Unexpected Afterlife
by cheeringforraindrops
Summary: Thinking she has stumbled into an expensive Renaissance fair Ali just wants to find her way home. As it turns out that is easier said than done when she finds she isn't exactly in Kansas any more and those Orcs are not just highly paid actors. (oc X Thorin) Rated for some Mature material in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

There is something to be said for being able to sleep anywhere. On a bus, bed, park bench, it didn't really matter to Ali how or where she caught her zzz's. She was even used to being shaken awake by strangers and cops worried about her. See to Ali's great dismay she was vertically challenged, fun sized, nano, travel sized, condensed awesome, the list was rather endless. Never had Ali had a real problem being short, sure the top shelf was tough to reach but she managed. That was until some do gooder would come by to check on the child sleeping on the bench and boom, not a kid.

Maybe that's why on this particular day as she was being shaken awake for what felt like the millionth time she thought she would be funny. Ali found shortly after that being funny wasn't her strong suit.

Sitting up strait as quickly as possible she flung her eyes open and yelled, "BOO!"

Now in the next nano second quite a bit happened. First her waker took a surprised step back, flinging his arms up and yelling in surprise. Though Ali didn't know who was more shocked as she glanced over the pair standing in front of her. Jerking back she went to brace her hand against the bench seat only to frantically wave her hand through open air.

A small shriek escaped as she rolled off the edge followed quickly by another from the man. The last thing she remembered was seeing the flagstone before she acquainted her face with it.

The air was warm and smoky, the bed was soft and velvety. Ali smiled and pulled the blanket up to her chin, then reality hit like a brick, or flagstone. Sitting up sharply Ali's head pounded, but she threw back the covers and searched the room.

It was empty, of people at least. Books lined the walls, trinkets shoved in between them, a small fire crackled in a tiny round fireplace. Stepping lightly Ali crossed to a small table by the wall, a pot of ink and quill caught her attention. That was certainly cute and old timey, as was the little carved pipe, carved wooden window sill, tiny waist coat and pocket watch.

"Why do I feel like I just stepped back in time," Ali asked herself and rubbed her eyes. Tip toeing to the also round door Ali peeked out the crack, it was a hallway, decorated in the same balance of cluttered yet clean fashion. Continuing on her toes she followed the hall, moving to where she could see firelight dancing on the walls.

There was a certain pleasure to being able to move silently, like some kind of ninja. That's when she felt it, "bastards took my shoes," she gasped.

"Pardon?" A small voice piped from a side room.

Surprised Ali took a step back and cried out.

The small man mirrored her shock. He was the first to regain his posture, "now let's not start that again," he stamped his foot.

Finally Ali was able to really take him in. He was shorter than her, not by too much though. There was a curly mop of brown hair that given different circumstances Ali would have loved to run her fingers through, just to see if it were as soft as it looked. The small man was dressed in a robe, tied with what looked like a curtain sash. What caught her attention was his feet though. Now Ali didn't normally bother to even look at other people's feet, not exactly the most interesting part of a person. In this case though it might have been, cause they were huge, easily twice the size they should be.

"What the hell happened to his feet?" Ali thought.

"I beg your pardon?" The small man huffed, crossing his arms in front of him.

Ali kicked herself for thinking out loud.

"I'll have you know that my feet are perfectly acceptable for my persons." He stuck his chin out as if she should have known this fact. "We hobbits are proud of our feet."

"You what's?" Ali blurted out, still standing as if she was ready to dart out the door, the idea was beginning to cross her mind.

"We hobbits, shire folk, Halflings as some call us," the small man shuffled forward and extended his hand to her. "But where are my manners, Bilbo Baggins of Bag End, at your service."

For one of the first times in her life Ali was completely dumbstruck. Normally her manners were completely on point, but today she just stared at the hand as if afraid she might catch his hobbityness. At this moment she had a dilemma before her, the man was obviously crazy. Ali just had to figure out if he was the sweet, genuine, crazy, or if he was the shank you and drink your blood in the name of his hobbit gods crazy.

Slowly she extended her own hand, deciding that if he was the demented kind it was best to not upset him so early in the game. Especially since he had hidden her shoes somewhere. "Ali," she said quietly, eyeing him for signs he was thinking of skinning her.

"Well Ali, I was about to begin preparing my evening meal, would you care to join?" Bilbo rubbed his hands together and smiled rather warmly at her.

As if her stomach had heard the word food, or knew her well enough to know she was about to protest, it let out a rather inelegant grumble. Bilbo laughed with one hand on his belly and shuffled off down the hallway, motioning for her to follow.

Obediently she mimicked his shuffle down the hallway and took the seat he pulled out for her. Bilbo's kitchen was decorated in the same old fashioned way that the rest of what she had seen.

"Would you care for some tea?" Bilbo asked as she had been staring at his old pipe stove.

"That sounds lovely," Ali responded automatically.

It only took until he set down her steaming mug for Ali to decide that Bilbo was definitely the cute kind of crazy. "Hell if he was going to rip my still beating heart from my chest he wouldn't have called himself Bilbo," she giggled.

"Excuse me?" Bilbo spun around, Ali's eyes widened, had she said that out loud?

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that the way it sounded!" Ali protested, "normally there aren't other people around, so I talk out loud a lot. Breaks up that unending silence, you know? Although I should really work at keeping most of those to myself. Not really appropriate for all your thoughts to be out there, might as well be able to read my mind…" Ali sort of dropped off with her ramblings, taking instead to staring at her tea. Surely now he was wondering what kind of crazy she was.

"Why don't you talk to your family?" Bilbo moved the fish around the pan.

"Oh they haven't really been around much," or at all, but perhaps that was over sharing.

"Certainly you have friends to talk to?" Bilbo was definitely the kind sort of crazy.

"Oh yea, tons of friends, like at least a hundred. Good listeners that bunch…" Ali examined her cup, now he was definitely considering her a skitzo.

"Don't you have anyone?" Bilbo asked as he was plating up their food.

"Sometimes I talk to the fuchsia in the park," okay now she was a legit crazy, god could she ever just shut her face hole.

Bilbo only laughed, and not one of those, 'I'm about to call the cops cause I'm scared' kinds of laughs, but a warm laugh that crinkled the corners of his brown eyes. "Sometimes I talk to my azaleas," the smile on his cute little face slid off as he looked up to her. "I don't really have anyone to talk to either, so it's a pleasure to have you join me for this meal Miss Ali."

It was the first time Ali had ever felt her heart break and warm at the same time. Instead she just smiled, "I hope you know we are besties now!"


	2. Chapter 2

Bilbo just cocked his curly head to the side and opened his mouth to say something but a knock at the door interrupted them. "That must be Gandalf," Bilbo said as he rose from the table.

"Who?" Ali asked, not being able to help but follow him.

"Gandalf the Gray," Bilbo repeated as if somehow that would answer her question. Then the second man from before flashed across her mind. It was only briefly though, everything had happened so quickly that she had not actually looked at him.

The only thing she was one hundred percent sure about though, was that as Bilbo swung open that door, the man on the other side was not the large gray man.

As he entered the house Ali just backed into the kitchen. This man was the epitome of not to be messed with, everything from his steely gaze to his forearms that looked like he spent his free time arm wrestling bears. Of course the axes he dropped in the hall were also a dead giveaway.

It was super awkward as both Ali and Bilbo sat in the room as he consumed their food. It was hard to watch, cause if there was one thing Ali enjoyed more than sleeping it was eating, but she just reminded herself of wrestling bears and didn't protest. Glancing up quickly she did a double take when she noticed they were both staring at her. Bilbo was sharply shaking his head, Dwalin (as he had introduced himself earlier) had stopped his chewing.

"What about bear's lass?" Dwalin asked glaring at her.

Thankfully a knock at the door interrupted before she could speak. "I got it!" Ali jumped up and darted out of the room. Pulling the door open quickly there was yet another man not dressed in gray.

"Pardon me Miss," The white haired man bent into a modest bow, "Balin at your service."

Ali returned the bow without really meaning to, and the man tottered around her, only to greet Dwalin. It was a strange greeting, caught somewhere between happy and violent. Together they moved back into the kitchen, talking loudly about food and what they had been up to. Bilbo followed protesting lightly, Ali on the other hand abandoned him. Slowly she backed into what she assumed was the living room and sank into one of the chairs.

This was beginning to be a bit much. Sure she could take one potentially crazy man, claiming to be a hobbit, but he was a kind hobbit. These new men didn't seem too kind, carrying weapons she had seen at a renaissance fair once. Plus where were all these crazies coming from? Ali stopped herself right there, renaissance fair, "that's it!" These were all just people dressed up and living at one of those year round fairs, she had heard that they take their jobs seriously.

Ali pushed the fact that it didn't explain HOW she had landed herself in the middle of all this. "One thing at a time," Ali whispered to herself as she moved back to the kitchen. Through the door she saw new people had entered while she had sat musing to herself. They were younger, one blonde one brunette.

"Blasted dwarves," Bilbo muttered as he entered the hallway pulling on a pair of suspenders. At the same moment there was another knock at the door next to her. Out of instinct she pulled the handle as Bilbo was shouting at the others.

Literally the door flung open, knocking Ali back as a whole group of men spilled through.

"Careful there," someone said as she fell back into a pair of strong arms. Glancing up she came face to face with the blonde man. Despite the warm smile Ali spun out of his arms and skipped across the chaos in the hallway to come to a halt behind Bilbo.

From the distance she felt more comfortable glancing back over and taking a full look. He was handsome, maybe that was under kill, he was hot. As if he had just walked off the cover of a fantasy romance novel. Ali took in what she could, long blonde hair, smiling blue eyes, mischievous half grin, unfortunately his heavy coat left the rest to the imagination.

"Well if it isn't our little guest," an old voice boomed from the doorway.

Glancing over she finally saw him, the gray man. As he stepped into the doorway he was forced to hunch over in the hall, it was only then that she realized. Everything in here was her size, or to be fair it was Bilbo sized. In fact even all of the men that had come through so far weren't too far off her height.

"What's going on?!" Ali blurted out, raising only the smallest glance from the nearest man.

"All in time my dear," Gandalf chuckled following one of the tiny men into the kitchen.

"Wait Gandalf," Bilbo protested, he tapped a stern hand on Ali's. She hadn't realized that she had grabbed onto his shirt, snapping her hands down she dropped her head.

"Sorry, do you have a restroom?" Ali asked before he could slip into the chaos that was apparently dwarves.

"Yes yes, that way," Bilbo waved to the hallway.

It only took a moment for Ali to find and pull the door close behind her. Sighing Ali leaned against the wall closing her eyes for a moment. How had everything gotten so turned around so fast?

Ali opened her eyes after a moment only to be met with her own reflection. To be honest if anyone around here looked weird it was her. Her clothing was bulky, worn, and ripped. It had been cold when she fell asleep so she was wearing everything she owned. Thermal leggings under baggy jeans under heavily worn carhart pants, three shirts under a plaid button up, under a ripped hoodie, under a bright yellow jacket. The only thing she was still missing was her boots. Her long dark hair was pulled back into a no nonsense pony tail.

If she was being honest though, Ali looked like a hobo, "or hipster," she giggled. "Na, you don't have an iphone, all hipsters have to have an iphone." Leaning forward Ali examined herself, touching the light rings that were threatening to form under her blue eyes. "It's a good thing you're young or you might look like poo."

"That's not very nice to say," Ali reprimanded herself, as she smoothed out her ponytail. "As it is I have bigger things to worry about."

Ali gave herself a resolute nod, she was going to tackle things one at a time. Hell she was homeless and jobless, literally no one was waiting for her to show up anywhere. Opening the door Ali gasped in surprise at one of the men standing in the hallway.

"Who were you talking to lass?" the man asked, he was a strange looking man, hat flipped up on either side, he was about her height.

"J…just my reflection, you know how rude they can be right?" Ali laughed nervously and edged around him, kicking herself at the same time. That's why you don't have any friends, she thought as she shrugged her jacket off and dropped it on the bed she had occupied before.

If she was going to get anything figured out she had to go back out there and get one of them to break character and point her home. It only took a moment after she stepped back into the hallway to get swept up in all the motion though. It was increasingly difficult to try and maneuver the crowd without getting in anyone's way as she tried to get their attention.

"Um sir…" she started to ask an older man with red hair, but he yelled suddenly making her jump and tottered off to an even older man.

"Okay then, sir could…" this time a younger man with a bowl cut noticed her but was grabbed by a man with the most interestingly gray braided beard and drug off.

Everyone was moving fast as she ducked and moved through them, trying not to break the rhythm. That was right up until the table was set. At which time a pair of hands rested on her back, pushing her into the room. Again it was the blonde man, as they entered the other young man with brunette hair basically scooped her up with her chair and they took seats on either side.

Then there was food flying between plates, yelling, laughing, drinks sloshing. Somewhere in all that commotion Ali's plate had been filled, unfortunately she wasn't given any silverware. Narrowly ducking some flying potatoes Ali wanted to slip under the table, try and regain some posture. Although when one was at a table full of men, being under the table was rarely where a girl could regain face.

"Why aren't you eating?" The brunette bumped Ali's shoulder, knocking her into the blonde man.

"Kili, you can't just ask someone that!" The blonde man nudged her with a playful grin pushing her back into Kili.

"It was innocent enough Fili," Kili winked down at her with a smile that edged on sinful.

"Here," Fili said, whipping a knife from his sleeve making Ali jump, "pardon." Gently he laid it down, exaggeratedly so which caused Ali's ears to heat up. They both went back to paying attention to the others.

Old habits die hard perhaps, Ali thought as she examined Fili a bit closer. There was a glint of hilt peaking from one boot, another suspicious bulge in his far sleeve, another two down his back.

Gingerly she picked up the knife he had offered and picked at her food, eating slowly as she glanced to the others. They were all carrying one or two weapons, which struck her as odd actually. Weren't all the fair weapons supposed to be pretend?

Then suddenly they were singing, throwing dishes, generally making poor Bilbo panic. Even Gandalf was smiling, nodding along to them singing about not breaking Bilbo's dishes. Instead of joining in Ali ducked down, doing her best to stay out of any projectiles path.

When she finally looked back up everything was gone, even her plate. Ali made a note to eat faster next time.

_Yay for chapter 2!_

_I'm still a bit new to uploading chapters and such so I didn't get to put this on the last chapter_

_Better late than never right?_

_Anyhoo, Thanks for reading this far, comments and critics are very much welcome!_

_Thank You!_


	3. Chapter 3

It was eerie how quickly the dwarves quieted when there was a knock on the door. Ali leaned to see the newest man enter, but the others blocked her view. This didn't stop her from hearing him. The man commented on getting lost or something, really the words themselves didn't matter as much. His rumbling baritone could have said, 'hand me a butter knife, I need to spread some jam on this shit,' and Ali still would have shivered with excitement.

Finally Ali was able to squeeze around the roundest man she had ever had the pleasure of meeting, and she saw what all the excitement was about. He was a bit older, still hovering in the mature area of life, not quite the old part. Rivaling the looks of the two brothers, his dark hair lay perfectly, his ice blue eyes cut strait through her as he swept the crowd. She had heard his name during dinner and knew without a doubt this was Thorin.

Some where during her day dreaming he had begun to circle poor Bilbo, asking him questions. Sword or ax, was he a grocer? Really that was rude. What did it matter if he was a grocer? From the looks of his house it paid decently and that was all that mattered.

"And what of her? Shall you really leave your little wife?" Thorin actually turned and smirked at her.

"What?" Bilbo and Ali asked in unison.

"We are not married!" Bilbo huffed.

"Who are you calling little? I can handle myself just fine!" Ali huffed along with Bilbo.

Someone cleared their throat uncomfortably and Ali could have sworn she saw Thorin roll his eyes.

"Gandalf I was not expecting a fifteenth member, who is she?" The man had the gall to turn his back on her. Ali wanted to take back everything she had thought about him previously.

Gandalf just raised a hand and turned away, "I am not one to risk a woman's wrath."

"I have not even been introduced to Gandalf, something you might know if you would actually address me." Ali stood her ground, doing her best not to grab for Bilbo as a shield when Thorin did turn back around.

"You have my attention," Thorin rumbled.

Then everyone was staring at her. Really it was something that should have been obvious. If you tell someone to pay attention then that's what's going to happen right? Ali froze, the last time this many people were looking at her was when she had slipped in the grocery store and took down a whole shelf.

"I'm a tourist!" Ali blurted out, as if it wasn't completely obvious.

"Tourist? What's that?" The one with the funny hat asked.

"A tourist," Ali just repeated, as if saying it twice would unlock the hidden meaning, "you know…" Ali looked around her at the men. They really were good actors, each of them pretending to be confused. "Someone who leaves home to learn more about other people's homes." Even to her own ears that was a clunky terrible definition of what a tourist was.

"Do tourists fight?" A dwarf barked but Ali couldn't figure out which one.

"Some do I suppose," Ali stammered.

"Sword or ax?"

"Depends on the individual."

"Are they light on their feet?"

"Could be, more so if they have Redbull."

"Used to traveling long distances?"

"More often than not."

The questions hit Ali rapid fire, as if they had them prepared for just this sort of situation. Just as her head was beginning to spin as fast as she was trying to pick out which ones where actually talking, Thorin raised his hand for silence.

"What help could a tourist be against a dragon," Thorin rumbled, looking down his nose at her.

"That is a question for which the answer will be brought to light at a later time." Gandalf said softly, drawing the attention from Ali. Something she would have to thank him for later.

"Then it is time to get back to the business at hand," the older dwarf with the white beard said.

The mood didn't lighten as they moved back to sit around the kitchen table. Frankly Ali wanted to leave right now. At first they had been nice if not a bit overwhelming, but Thorin was…was rude. Not to mention that he didn't even want her to be here. She had half a mind to slam her hand on the table and demand that they tell her where she was.

The other half of her mind was not in agreement though. That would draw way too much attention back to her, something that she could feel her heart rate speed up just thinking about. No she was much too much of an introvert for that.

Beside her the brunette dwarf nudged her with his elbow, startled Ali turned. Without looking down he slipped something into her lap under the table. It was cool to the touch and slightly sharp, cautiously Ali glanced down. It was a butter knife, she looked back to the man and then back to the knife. Why on earth did he slip her a butter knife?

Realization hit her like a cold glass of water, that comment about spreading jam. Wide eyed she glanced back, his lips were pressed into a thin line trying not to smile, but he did spare her a wink.

Ali opened her mouth to protest but was cut short as Bilbo hit the floor.

Gandalf had been around for a long while, there was not much in this world that surprised him anymore. Not many puzzles that remained for him to ponder over, that was until he had wandered up to Bilbo's door this very morning.

There was something different about this girl that much Gandalf could tell, something that went beyond her foreign clothes and manner of speaking. It was as if she were here and not at the same time. This was almost unsettling for the wizard, he knew her physical body to be solid and her mind intact.

From the far side of the room Gandalf pulled on his pipe, allowing the calming smoke to fill every pore. He felt the dwarf prince slide into the seat next to him but didn't turn from watching the girl.

"I do not like this," Thorin stated, "we cannot trust her."

Gandalf released a breath of smoke, "can we not?"

"We do not know who she is," Thorin growled.

"Does knowing someone mean they can be trusted?" Gandalf pondered aloud, after a moment of silence he continued, "does not knowing a person mean they cannot be trusted."

"Trust is something that is earned," Thorin rebutted.

Gandalf turned to look at the prince who was watching the girl fussing over Bilbo, holding his features with a careful indifference. "It is something that can be falsely earned as well. Plus you haven't even given the girl a chance."

"Nobody here knows who she is, why should I take a risk for her?" Thorin asked.

The prince had a point, Gandalf would give him that much. He sighed as he turned back to see her bringing a cup of tea to the hobbit. Things in Middle Earth were changing, there was a shift in the air that concerned Gandalf. Something deep in his gut told him that it would be a mistake to leave this girl. There was more to her than she let on, maybe more than she even knew herself.

To the common eye she appeared nothing more than a shy, polite, and naive woman, a burden for sure. Gandalf was not so sure that she was. She held herself close at all times, watching the others, but more than that she watched herself. For one as foreign as herself it would have been easy to become the center of attention, but she did not seek it, answering only vaguely when asked a direct question.

"I will not be responsible for either of them," Thorin interrupted Gandalf's musing.

Gandalf took another pull, holding the smoke as the girl glanced up finally. It was only for a second that they held the glance, but he could see it clearly. Behind her polite smiling demeanor there were tired eyes that betrayed her soul for that second alone. This girl was not naïve to the cruelty of the world. He exhaled his held breath, not bothering to make any show of smoke. "Fair enough."


	4. Chapter 4

There was no end to the muttering and groaning Bilbo was making from behind Ali on their shared saddle. It really didn't bother her though, either the sharp rocking or the complaining. Instead she found herself listening to the men around her.

So far Ali was pretty sure she had the names memorized, actually it had been easier than she suspected. From what she had gathered so far if a name rhymed then there was a close family relation. In fact with all the rhyming she felt as if she was reciting Santa's reindeer.

"What you going on 'bout Santa?" Bofur asked, pulling his pony up next to theirs.

"What?" Ali asked, she had heard him alright, but was hoping he would just keep moving.

"Santa, ya said we was like Santa's deer? Then ya muttered somethin' like, 'on Ori, on Dori, on Nori, and Gloin. On Bifur, on Bofur, on Bombur, and Oin. On Fili, on Kili, on Balin, Dwalin and Thorin.'" Bofur swayed back and forth with his pony, and Ali cursed his unusually good memory.

"That was impressive that you could repeat that, I bet you're a great story teller." Ali smiled hoping he would take the bait and change the subject.

To her surprise he did, "bit more of a singer than storyteller, care to hear?"

"Of course I would, I hear such wonderful things about dwarven songs," Ali prodded, it was only half a lie, she had seen them singing in Snow White. That was all it took for the man to break into a smile from ear to ear, and not much more for him to break into a little diddy about drinking.

It continued that way until the sun began to set. They had just reached a nook in the path when Thorin called for a halt. Ali did her best to slide off the somber little pony, but to even the most untrained eye it was more of a fall. Strait down. It brought a roar of laughter from the young brothers, Kili practically rolled off his own pony. Thorin on the other hand didn't seem so impressed, in fact he looked down right angry.

Ali shot up and side stepped around behind the pony as he moved her way. She pretended to be too preoccupied dusting herself off to notice as he rounded the pony as well.

"Are you hurt?" Thorin asked, his voice softer than she expected.

"Um, no," Ali hesitated, waiting for him to make some biting remark, when he didn't she continued on her own, "and I fell away from the pony, so he's okay as well." She patted the quiet little chestnut mare, but he continued to remain silent. Chancing a glance over she caught his eyes for a second before returning to the pony, his face didn't hold that resentment that it had in Bilbo's home. She let the thought cross her mind that maybe this would be a turning point for them, maybe it had just been a bad day for him.

"You look to be some sort of joke in that jacket," Thorin turned sharply and left her alone. Apparently it was still a bad day.

She made an effort to not look like she was in pain, but her legs were sore and she was fairly sure she understood why cowboys walked the way they did. Really all she wanted to do was curl up and sleep.

Until she heard something, like a shriek, or cry. Whatever it was she bolted up to see her expression mirrored on Bilbo's face.

"What was that?" Bilbo asked, glancing to Fili and Kili who exchanged a knowing look.

"That would be an orc party, out hunting," Kili whispered. Ali just laid back down, a group of men dressed like dwarves, a group of men dressed like orcs. At this point she wasn't even surprised by this anymore.

For the first time in a while though Ali found sleep evading her. Instead she curled into her jacket listening to Balin tell tales about Thorin, orcs, and his father. The man was a talented story teller, his words flowing effortlessly, voice hitching at the right moments. For a moment she actually believed that he had seen those things. If that was his back story then Ali understood why the others followed him. Any man who could watch his father perish and yet put that aside for the greater good of his people would be considered a hero back home.

It wasn't until Bilbo curled up with his back to hers that she was able to find any sleep.

When Thorin called for a halt next to the remains of an old farm house Ali fell off her pony yet again. This time it was more relief than anything. Years spent sleeping on the ground was one thing, but that saddle was beginning to be torture.

Doing her best not to waddle around Ali followed on Gandalf's heels over to the house. Just as she opened her mouth to ask how she could help the hairs on Ali's arms stood on end. It felt as if she had been struck in the chest as she stumbled back confused and shocked. Looking around it didn't seem as if any of the others had been affected in the slightest.

This time she approached with more caution, easing her way into the ruins. It was uncomfortable to say the least, as if thousands of bugs where crawling over her body. Ali decided that it might be best if she returned to her pony for a bit.

"We should keep moving," Gandalf boomed.

"Thank god," Ali breathed.

"No, we camp here for the night," Thorin challenged, throwing orders to the others to begin setting up for the night.

"Fili, Kili, watch the ponies," Thorin barked, ignoring Gandalf's protest.

"Gandalf where are you going?" Ali heard Bilbo yell as he pushed past her.

"To seek the council of the only one here with any sense, myself!" Gandalf boomed as he disappeared.

"Is it really smart to ignore what he says?" Ali asked the brothers as they were unsaddling them.

Kili just shrugged, "we will follow Thorin to Mahal if so be it."

"He is our king and uncle," Fili continued hefting off his saddle and laying it over a fallen tree.

"Fair enough," Ali nodded grabbing the nearest horse and fumbling with the buckle that held the saddle on, this was their game after all. Nothing budged though, it was so tight that Ali began to wonder how these ponies even breathed.

"Here let me get that," Fili chuckled, grabbing at the buckle.

Ali smacked his hand, "no, let me help," so far she had felt like they were just humoring her being here. As she struggled though she began to think that maybe this wasn't the best route to help. Putting her whole body into it she pulled up as hard as possible, sliding it a fraction up and popping it out of the hole. Panting Ali smiled at herself, releasing one hand to try and move the synch up. Instantly it snapped back into place.

This time she braced herself and pulled up even farther, hoping that she could move fast enough to snap it out of the way. Again the saddle moved faster than she did.

"It will only take a second for me…" Fili was behind her again, reaching around to grab the strap.

"No," Ali protested again, pushing her back against his chest to move him out of reach. Unfortunately that was like pushing against a brick wall.

"You're going to take all night," Fili muttered as he grabbed the synch himself.

"I want to help somehow," Ali gritted her teeth and in a last ditch effort shoved her hands between his and the buckle.

At first Fili moved slow, taking his hands away so that she knew he was backing off. Then like lightning he grabbed her by the waist, pulling her back into his chest, both feet lifting off the ground. As he finished the spin she saw Kili step up and flick the buckle open like it was nothing.

As fast as it started it was over, Ali facing the fire and Fili's arms slipping away. "Why don't you go see if they need any help?" Fili whispered into her ear.

Ali stomped up to the company mumbling, "just you watch, I'll be a help to you somehow."

They did in fact not let her help with the food though, claiming that they were practically done anyways. Sighing in defeat she took up her normal spot by Bilbo.

"'Ey Bilbo, do us a favor and take these ta the boys," Bofur called as Bombur shoved two bowls in his hands.

"I could go?" Ali interjected quickly but Bilbo was already rising.

"It's alright, I'll be right back," Bilbo mumbled.

Really? Ali thought, she had literally just asked if she could help and they glossed right over her for Bilbo. Maybe it was because she wasn't like them. Racist bastards.

"Trolls!" Kili yelled as he broke through the trees, running full tilt into their circle. Fili was only a step behind, skidding to a halt behind his brother.

"Trolls have Bilbo!" Fili gasped, more panicked than actually out of breath.

"What happened?" Thorin rumbled.

"Lost the ponies, trolls stole them, Bilbo went after, trolls stole Bilbo," Kili summed up. "This way," he motioned taking back off, the rest on his heels.

Ali shot up from her seat following in Bofur's wake.

"Not you," Thorin stepped in front of her, his voice cold, "I don't want you to get in anyone's way."

Just as Ali was about to open her mouth to protest Thorin turned and disappeared into the woods. It didn't take a psychologist to know that those words would hurt. She did her best to grit her teeth and sit back down.

Now Ali never generally let herself complain too much, but this was becoming a bit ridiculous. Sure she wasn't dressed up in some kind of costume, waving around a sword and pretending to reclaim her homeland. It would have been easy enough to just point her in a general direction and that would have been the end of it.

Ali glanced at the now shadow of the house and a shiver ran up her spine. On the tree beside her was a now abandoned flask, she glanced around and back down to it. Normally she wasn't a drinker, but somewhere between the creepy house, the dark sky, and just generally being ignored Ali pushed that aside.

It was probably the strongest thing she had ever swallowed she thought as it burned down her throat and then threatened to burn on the way back up. Ali leaned back and blinked away the burning tears that it had brought on.

"Whooo," she sighed when she knew it would stay down. Already Ali could feel it as she jumped to her feet. "I'm going to go and demand that they…. That they something!" Ali boasted to herself. It was the liquor talking and she knew it, but what harm could a little liquid courage do. Taking another drag Ali re-corked the flask because she wasn't so buzzed as to leave other people things a mess and strutted off down the path after the dwarves.

_Another chapter down and things are about to pick up!_

_Thank you for reading this far, and to everyone who have Favorited or commented on this story._

_If you have anything, question, comment, suggestion, I would love to hear it :)  
><em>


	5. Chapter 5

There was a sort of defiance in her strut, something that was unusual for Ali. Normally she was pretty laid back, easy to get along with, some might say timid. Even the thought of nicking a pack of gum at a corner store made her uncomfortable.

This however was not a pack of gum, and technically she was not doing anything illegal, or even remotely morally wrong. As she followed the shouting of their little 'battle' Ali shrugged off her bulky yellow jacket. Telling herself it was because she was suddenly feeling warm, and definitely not because Thorin had made fun of it.

The clearing was complete with giant robotic trolls and all the dwarves tied up in bags. Save for those who were currently spinning around on the spit. It was total and utter chaos if Ali had ever seen it, and she had. Once witnessing the consequences of what actually happened when one stole candy from a baby, and it wasn't pretty. That was also the best metaphor she could think of, because by the look of these robots these people were totally loaded. Jurassic Park would have been a totally different movie if they had this kind of money, and that was a master piece as it was.

"Excuse me, pardon me," Ali shouted as she maneuvered through their legs to get to the trapped men.

"Eh, lookit, anotha!" One of them shrieked, making a grab at her.

"Whoa there, I am not part of this…" Ali waved her hands around, "this thing you guys are doing. Can't you tell?"

"Whaa?" One scrunched his nose and looked at the others.

"RUN LASS!"

"GIT OUTTA HERE!"

The dwarves yelled, sounding almost as if they were worried about her. Ali just barked out a laugh, waving her hands exaggeratedly to blow them off. "I have a bone to pick with you before you can get rid of me."

"We is gonna eat you," the nasally one knelt down closer to her, giving Ali a better view of the face.

"Well that's something that a man hasn't told me in a while," Ali joked reaching out she grabbed its nose giving it a squeeze and then pulled her hand out.

"EEEEEEEEEE!" It screamed, rolling back and grabbing its nose, "IT GOT ME! IT GOT ME!"

"Oh calm your tits, you'll be fine," Ali mumbled continuing over to the men. "You seem to have gotten yourselves in a pinch, it's too bad I'm a burden and can't help."

"What ya talking 'bout! Cut us loose!" Bofur yelled from his place on the spit.

Ali turned in time to see a giant gray hand flying at her. In high school Ali had taken gymnastics, and she hadn't been too bad if she did say so herself. Using some of that muscle memory more than actual knowing what she was doing, she was able to dive forward and roll back up to her feet.

Turing to look at him Ali just put her hand up as he looked ready to move forward again. "I said stop, you are awfully handsy for a guy who hasn't even brought me flowers" she stomped her foot and the creature froze.

"Grab 'er," one nudged his friend.

"But she said no," the nasally one protested still holding his hand over his nose.

"Get out of here now!" Thorin yelled!

"Oh really?" Ali waved her hands and rolled her eyes, "big words from the fashion police. I mean really? What is it you think I've been trying to do?"

Feeling the air move Ail ducked in time for a grab, "what did I say about the hands?!"

There was a second the troll looked between his friends and then back at her, "umm, no?"

"That's right, now, I'm not sure what kind of cosplay is going on, or maybe this is some strange reality show. I mean they have that one where people get married to someone they've never met. In comparison this wouldn't be that bad actually."

"You're not making any sense lassie!" One yelled, probably Dwalin.

"I'm not making any sense? You giant bulk of fucking muscle," Ali stepped around another grab, "you men make less sense than Batman riding a flying toaster!"

"What are you talking about!?"

"Batman! I'm talking about Batman!" Ali ran around one of their legs as they squealed in anger, "rich, handsome man desired by all, who fights crime at night dressed like a fucking bat! Riding a machine that toasts bread! Stop pretending to not understand!"

Ali kicked one of the legs on the robots, this talk was not going even close to how she planned. Somehow she kept getting distracted, and angry. Her temper was definitely beginning to flair, and she suddenly wished she hadn't had that drink. In a few minutes she knew she would feel bad for using such vulgar language.

From above she heard Gandalf yell, "DAWN TAKE YOU ALL!"

"Who's that?" One of the trolls asked.

"Dunno, can we eat him to?" Another said.

From his place atop the boulder Gandalf brought his staff up and cracked it back down onto the stone. It must not have been as solid as it looked cause it broke right in half, they could afford giant robots but couldn't find a proper rock?

All at once the trolls began to scream, moving away in stiff jostling movement. It down right startled Ali right out of the last of her buzz. The skin on each of them turned chalky as they slowed their retreat, and she couldn't look away. Probably should have though as the nearest one swung his arm one last time, catching Ali right across the face.

* * *

><p>The woman was infuriating to say the least, running about spouting some sort of nonsense. Calling him, Thorin Oakenshield a fashion police! Spewing some nonsense about this Batman, calling him handsome and desired, surely any man who dresses as a tiny mammal would be idiotic. She made no move what so ever to free any in the company, instead just placed herself in harm's way.<p>

Thorin's blood boiled during the entire performance of hers, surely she should have stayed back at camp as she was told. Though when Ali was knocked back by one of the trolls it felt as if someone had poured ice through his veins.

"Ali!" Bilbo yelled struggling to his feet while still bagged he struggled over to her limp body. Thorin struggled to remain stoic as Gandalf made his way maddeningly slowly over to help release them. "Ali, Ali, can you hear me?" Bilbo asked over and over as he gave up and attempted to roll to her.

"She is fine Master Bilbo, nothing more than a bump on the head." Gandalf grunted waving a hand in her direction.

"A complete idiot, useless as ever," Thorin mumbled loud enough so the others could hear.

"Oh," Gandalf said taking a step back just as he had knelt to help, "strange as she may seem it is because of her you were not sautéed with sage." Gandalf chuckled and leaned in so only Thorin could hear the rest, "and if I'm not mistaken you are rather fond of her."

It was true, Thorin could feel his palms sweating when he neared her, wishing every moment to reach for her. Catching himself watching the shy way she would smile, looking under her lashes when she believed no one was watching. Straining to catch the soft words she would use when she voiced her thoughts. It was becoming maddening.

"She's bleeding pretty bad!" Bilbo turned over.

"Hurry it up!" Kili wriggled around violently.

The others began to yell, drowning each other out. Thorin was surprised how many of them had actually grown to be fond of her, tripping out of his bag he moved to Ali. Grabbing a small dagger he ripped the rope around Bilbo's neck in one quick motion, using him as a reason to kneel by her side.

Blood had begun to run across her forehead from her hairline, but didn't look too serious. Thorin released a breath he hadn't realized that he was holding.

"She will be fine," Thorin snapped and calling on his waning willpower he stood and moved away. He was not daft he knew he was falling, he had heard of others who had found their other half. In fact one of his own company, Gloin had found his. Thorin was a strong man though, as long as he kept his distance, physically and emotionally, he was sure he could reverse it.

* * *

><p><em>Alright, sorry for the lateshort post, work has been a killer this week_

_Thank you to everyone who has favorited, followed, and commented so far_

_I would love to hear your thoughts about the story :)_

_Comments are what keep me going!_

_I promise the next chapter will be longer!_


	6. Chapter 6

It was a pounding in her head that jostled her back into consciousness. Ali did her best to blink the world back into focus, everything just spun out. There was a terribly sharp pressure on her stomach that Ali pushed against weakly.

Next to her was Dori running upside down, Ali rubbed her eyes and looked back, he was definitely still there. It wasn't him though that was upside down, it was her. Grabbing the jacket that she had been pressed into she pushed herself up to get a better look around and she caught sight of Fili's familiar blonde hair. The rocking was going to make her sick she was sure.

"Put me down," Ali spluttered, not wanting to throw up on this man. He either didn't listen or didn't hear though and continued.

It only took a minute, although with the motion sickness taking full effect, it felt more like an hour before he stopped. Ali struggled just enough for him to drop her, landing on her butt she looked up and saw Fili press a finger to his lips. Dwalin grabbed her roughly by her sweater hood pulling her up against the stone wall. They were all here Ali confirmed throwing a quick glance around. What had happened when she was out?

They were all looking up, Ali glanced up as well, not actually seeing anything, but she could hear there was something. These men hadn't even stopped their game long enough for her to regain consciousness, she thought feeling a bit irritated.

From the corner of her eye she caught Kili stepping out and pulling back an arrow. Whatever it was that he had hit fell in front of them, shocked Ali screamed and pressed back into the cold stone. Whatever it was thrashed, growled, and shrieked, legs and fur flashed violently before shuttering to a halt.

For a second Ali had completely missed the orc that had stepped away. It was disguising, gray skin sagged on its face, black liquid oozing from its mouth, wheezing out pained breaths. If they ever did break this little façade she was going to have to compliment their makeup artists. It darted towards them raising a shrieking cry and broken looking sword.

It was Dwalin that moved first, striking it once with his hammer, then Bifur, Fili, even sweet Bofur. Was the orc a robot as well? Ali thought desperately as Dwalin's hammer reeled back for another blow something wet hit her cheek. Raising a hand she touched it numbly, but she didn't look, couldn't look away from the circle. One by one they moved away revealing the mangled remains of what was once a man.

It didn't feel as if her mind was fully working as she stared at him, "he's dead," fell from her lips but that was all. She let one of them pull her away, dragging her yet again into a run. It didn't feel as if she was actually here though, her body felt heavy, was she in shock? Ali turned to see Kili let another arrow fly, knocking another from his perch.

They were still killing! The tremor of realization hit Ali hard as she watched another fall. They were killing these men for a game, men were dying, dying! The hand on her arm pulled her back, wide eyed Ali jerked against Bofur's hand. She felt a feverish need to get away as she clawed at his large fingers almost not noticing her attempts.

Somewhere she could hear her own voice shrieking for them to stop, but she didn't feel the words forming on her lips. Ali couldn't stop as they pulled her down the stone corridor. Didn't stop twisting violently to get away, didn't stop shrieking, didn't stop shaking as yet another fell at her feet. This couldn't be happening, shouldn't be happening. Ali couldn't take seeing people die, not since…not since then.

A sharp pain exploded across her face and everything stopped. This wasn't the first time she had been struck in her life, not even close to it. Ali sat unmoving as her mind cleared finally. These men had killed just seconds before, there was no doubt in her mind at that moment that they wouldn't hesitate to deal her the same fate. It was most likely sheer luck that they hadn't already.

Ali allowed Bilbo to take her elbow and usher her down the stone corridor with the others. It would have been an understatement to say that at that moment she was the most scared she had ever felt in her life. It wasn't the same but Ali dug back to that feeling and did what she had done then, numbing the fear was almost second nature.

To say that Ali's family had been stable would have almost been the same as saying ice melts when it gets cold, it just wasn't so. On more occasions than she had been able to count on her little fingers her father had stumbled in, raging about work, people, politics, the weather, didn't matter so much. Tired and angry he would lash out, spitting foul words and landing more than just the back of his fists on her mother and Ali. Then it had been just Ali, alone.

Remembering her mother was something that even her numb façade couldn't mask. So she quickly pushed it aside before it could take hold in her mind.

Stumbling along Ali didn't actually see much, her mind was out of focus as the new members ushered them along the halls of their home. Keeping her mind clear of any thought, body relaxed, and most importantly eyes down. This had worked so many times before, leaving her enough mind to function, yet little enough that people deemed her no threat and ignored her.

In fact it wasn't until she had stumbled into the room that they gave her that she recovered and let the panic set in. First off she didn't know where she was. Second she was now somehow involved in some sort of twisted game. Third, she was going to die if she didn't think fast.

She had to get away, Ali thought as she paced the expansive room, she had survived too much to be killed for something so stupid. Again the image of them beating the orc flooded her mind, her chest felt impossibly tight. Kneeling down she wrapped her hands around her stomach and leaned forward resting her forehead on the stone floor. She wanted to cry, wanted to let herself give in to the shaking fear inside.

That was weak of her, crying is weakness, pain is weakness, her father's words spun in her head making her sick.

"You're father was a cruel man," a soft voice whispered in her ear.

Jerking away Ali's heart pounded painfully against her ribs, landing on her butt a few feet away she stared wide eyed at the woman who had startled her. She was beautiful, impossibly beautiful actually, as if angel lights were literally radiating from her skin. Her light hair was wreathed in an intricate crown, her light gown fell perfectly as it should have if she had been fidgeting with it for minutes. Everything was light and flowy and beautiful.

A small smile played on her lips, surely she was looking at Ali and seeing some girl who looked like she had just rolled down a mountain.

"Do not fear, I'm here to help," the lady said gently, rising smoothly to her feet. "You have questions, I shall do my part in answering them. My name is Galadriel."

* * *

><p>The table was unusually silent for a group of dwarves. Not that the damnable elves were aware, carrying on with those forsaken harps as if that was even music. Thorin heard someone mutter about feeling like they were at a funeral and silently agreed. The food they offered wouldn't have helped lift their moods no matter the situation. Instead he watched has the company pushed tomatoes around their plates.<p>

It was obvious what the problem was, Ali, of course when wasn't she the problem recently. Almost as soon as they had walked through the gates an elf maiden had whisked her off. Thorin had done his best to not protest, it wasn't his business what she did, she wasn't part of his company, she had never signed a contract with him. Still as he leaned back in his chair he found himself clenching his fist in his lap, his knuckles still warm from the contact.

Thorin's gut knotted when he thought about how it felt when he struck her, as if he had laid a hand on an angel. It was obvious that she had never seen battle before, but she had screamed so loudly. Ali was scared but she wasn't making any sense, surely she knew they were doing what they had to in order to live. Bofur had tried to shake sense into her, but Thorin had just reached out.

There was regret immediately in his heart, then as she closed down there was pain. It felt as if someone had put out the fire in her eyes as she stumbled along with them. Thorin felt sick, felt as if she had shut down part of his heart with hers.

"Laddie," Balin gently touched his shoulder, Thorin looked around to see an empty table. "The others have retired to the balcony for the night."

Thorin nodded and moved along with his old friend, not really paying attention to where they were going. Absentmindedly he rubbed his pained chest.

"That is the curse of finding your One," Balin smiled softly nodding to Thorin's hand when the younger dwarf's head snapped up.

"What is this feeling," Thorin asked, although he believed he knew.

The older dwarf stopped in the moonlit hallway. Balin opened his mouth and closed it, thinking his words through. "That would be her pain," Balin said finally.

"Dwarves as you know are passionate in everything, throwing themselves fully into what their hearts desired." Balin continued as he began to meander down the hall again, "that does not cease when we find our One. Or other half of our heart, as such it is only appropriate that once your hearts have touched you would share the feelings of the other. Ali is in pain, that much even the densest of the company can tell."

"I don't wish for this," Thorin almost rasped.

"Aule does not do as we wish but as he wishes," Balin snapped, "Thorin the sooner you accept this the better it will be for both of you."

"She hates me," Thorin muttered, sounding more bitter than he meant.

"Have you given her a reason not to?" Balin loved Thorin as if he was his own son, but this boy was sometimes too dense. "You have been nothing but impossible to get along with this entire journey, it would do you no harm to try and be more polite."

Thorin knew Balin was right, although he had not found a time when the older dwarf wasn't. Hand still tingling he realized his heart didn't pain him so much. Tomorrow he would talk to her and try to set things straight.

* * *

><p><em>Well there it is, a serious chapter.<em>

_Ashmo21 there was a bit of a super meltdown but it's over, yay!_

_I didn't know how to avoid at least a bit of one, since i've tried to keep Ali as real as possible_

_Now things can lighten back back up :)_

_As always thanks to all the lovely people who are reading this,_

_Please comment if there's anything you would like to see, questions, or suggestions._


	7. Chapter 7

There was a silence between them, Ali was completely frozen. There was a time when a hundred thoughts would have run through her head, things to say, what to do. Right now she had nothing, nothing but a pounding heart, and throbbing head, wondering if this woman was in on everything as well.

"You do not believe in me," the woman continued, "in fact you do not believe any of this is real." At first Ali didn't believe this either but as the woman spoke her mouth didn't open. Trying to be covert Ali glanced around for hidden speakers but didn't see any signs.

"This is no trick, there are no speakers, I am simply speaking directly into your mind," Galadriel tilted her head ever so slightly.

If this is real what am I thinking of…HORSERADISHES! Ali yelled in her mind.

"Horseradishes are a random thought indeed, but enough of this game." Galadriel began to move slowly towards the balcony. Ali on the other hand was having a bit of an issue just letting this revelation go. This woman was in her mind, literally reading her mind at that moment. She needed aluminum foil, and she needed it now. Is that even possible? How? Who was she? Was she actually dreaming? Was this just some bad dream? Was there any sort of substitute for foil?

"Let me start from the beginning, it will answer some of your questions." Galadriel turned so the setting sun illuminated her white dress in soft pinks. "I am Galadriel, one of the few who can delve into the minds of others, although mine is a story for another time. The answer to whether or not you are dreaming well that is a complicated one, for the answer is both yes and no.

"Physically your body resides both here on this plane of reality and back in your own reality. Although you are not dreaming, you died." Galadriel paused, watching Ali, but Ali didn't say anything, not yet. "You were brought here by myself, to save middle earth. Do you know much of Erebor?" Galadriel asked.

Reluctantly Ali shook her head no, she had heard it mentioned but she brushed it off, assuming it was make believe. Like she had assumed everything was so far.

"Erebor was once a rich land, producing much of the areas wealth. Often overlooked was the importance such a stronghold would have in a time of war, and unfortunately it feels as though war may be on the horizon. Although it does not matter how powerful the hold is if ruled by the wrong persons.

"Thorin is a strong dwarf one who would rule well, in his wake Fili will be just as wise one day. I have seen devastation in their future, if something was not changed they would not live to see the rise of Erebor," Galadriel paused and let the words sink in.

Sink in they did, so much so that Ali's head felt muggy. These men were going to die, she actually believed that, but she didn't know if that was such a bad thing, they had still killed the orc.

Images flooded her mind, playing as if it were some horrible movie. Orcs darted back and forth slaughtering a family, dragging a woman out of her home by her hair. Another crouched by the door, twisting a young boys arm until it dislocated with a squelching pop then rip as it was pulled from his shoulder. The orc bit into it, black ooze mixing with fresh red blood, teeth scraping the bones.

Ali lurched forward and heaved. It was lucky she had passed on eating for a while as she wretched again. Although she hadn't actually thrown up she wiped her mouth as the images disappeared.

"Orcs do not feel pity for those less powerful, they do not feel mercy for those who cannot defend themselves. They feel anger, hatred, hunger, and power. There are many in this land that would kill for less than merely something to pass the time. It would be wise to keep that in mind." Galadriel's words cut Ali but her voice was still angel soft.

"What does this have to do with me?" Ali gasped, still feeling queasy.

"I think you have an idea child," Galadriel didn't smile anymore as Ali looked up at the flawless woman. It was at that moment that the pieces to this puzzle started to click into place.

Ali had always been different in a way, seeing shadows where there ought naught to be, hearing voices when all was silent. It had scared her father, who was a suspicious man. He believed she was possessed, then later claimed she was conspiring with the spirits to kill him. It made him angry, it made him violent, it kept people from hanging out with the weird kid. So she hide it, Ali spent so many years pretending that she didn't see, didn't hear, that she had almost forgotten.

"But they were not spirits," Galadriel continued. "You my child walk the Veil. A hidden connection between worlds, what you were seeing were not the dead but merely glimpses into this land. It was quite the effort even for me to find a Veil dweller, since your denial was so great."

"So I was brought over by you, because Thorin and his nephews won't live through retaking Erebor?" Ali mind churned over these facts, but her part was still confusing her.

"When the final battle arises you will have a decision. Live here in Middle Earth and allow Thorin's fate to cause a downward spiral amongst his people. Or accept his fate as your own and help save his people, giving the land the much needed support it has lost." Galadriel finished but there was no amusement in her eyes anymore.

"You're asking me to be selfish and live, or die for a man who hates me?" Ali asked, this whole speech summed up in one question.

"Not so much Thorin as his people, the race of man, and all those who will perish during the war once their king has been slain. I am asking a great deal, but not the end of your life. I pulled you from the other side of the Veil for a reason, when you are killed your spirit will be sent back to your original body."

Ali was sitting back, looking at the ceiling. When she fell asleep on the bench the last thing she thought would happen was this. Actually this wasn't even the last thing on her mind cause it hadn't even bothered to cross it. There was more of a chance that Godzilla would walk through the park fight a giant battle and step on her and that was how she might die.

"The choice is yours my child," Galadriel hummed.

This was a pretty serious choice, Ali looked over to tell her but the room was empty. Jumping up she looked around, peering around the bed as if Galadriel had crouched down to hide behind it. Of course she hadn't, Ali almost kicked herself for thinking a woman like that would do something so stupid. None the less she shimmed over to the balcony and peered down, still not there.

The room was totally empty, she had disappeared into thin air. Yet strangely enough it didn't bother her, or more than that it didn't surprise her. Why should it? Ali thought, as of today that was literally the least strange of all the strange things that were topping the time she saw the man in a diaper on the subway.

Leaving just Ali with big personal questions. Would she die for them? Could she kill for them? Why did all of this happen to her? Did she actually believe all of this was actually real? Questions people her age should be thinking were much less important. Does my make-up look good? Could Ironman beat up Batman in head to head combat? Where should I eat lunch today?

"How does a person answer these questions?" Ali groaned covering her face with her hands dramatically. That's when it dawned on her, she didn't even know these people, or dwarves for that matter. That's where it had to start, she had to get to know the, each of them, and possibly that would help her decide. One thing at a time.

* * *

><p>It was early the next morning, too early in fact, but the sun was beginning to shine and Ali had promised herself she would get up. Groggy she sat on the edge of the bed rubbing her face praying that this place had some form of coffee. Reaching out to where she had dropped all her over clothes she was shocked to find bare floor.<p>

A glance down confirmed her suspicions, there was nothing, even her heavy boots where gone. Ali just stared at the empty floor, willing herself to be surprised, or at least a little horrified. Sometime last night someone had come in and stolen her clothes, all in all it paled next to one story tall trolls turning to stone. At least she still had her thermal leggings and a shirt. Near the foot of the bed something caught her eye, it was a dress. Picking it up she examined it, it was the deepest emerald green, with gold stitching that flowered across the skirt, and a low cut neck. Carefully Ali removed her own clothes and shimmied into it.

It was obvious that it was made for a child, although with the height difference she wasn't too surprised. The top was a bit too snug and pressed her breasts a bit, pushing them up and revealing more cleavage than she thought she ever had. The waist fit perfectly thank god, but her hips were a bit too wide, which hitched the skirt up to knee level. Quickly she pulled her leggings back on, if she was going to show that much boobage she didn't need to show that much leg. Doing her best to shove her breasts down into her bra Ali realized it was a lost cause and decided to let her hair fall down to help cover them up.

After pulling on the boots they had left Ali caught sight of herself in the mirror as she went to leave. She looked different, she had never let herself wear nice things, much less girly things and didn't know how she felt about it.

Ali's looks didn't matter though, cause today she was going to get to know the dwarves, figure out how she feels, and try not to fall out of her top.

All that was easier said than done though as she wandered the massive halls. For a rowdy bunch they were incredibly hard to find. In fact she found the first of them in a place she was looking more in desperation than actually thinking they might be, the library.

Sitting in overly large chairs it was almost hard to think of them as full sized men. To add to that she found it hard to imagine anyone who sat in a library knitting would have spent the day before beating in the heads of orcs. None the less that's where she found Dori and Ori, silently clicking away on their individual projects enjoying the sun beams spilling in from the windows.

Nerves hit her suddenly and she stood behind a bookcase. Surely they wanted to be left alone not bothered by some strange woman who they really didn't know. What would they think of her after how she acted yesterday?

"Annoyed that's how," she answered herself then clamped her hand over her mouth, but it was too late.

"Hello?" Dori called.

Kicking herself and her mouth she stepped around the bookshelf and waved a tiny hello. "Mind if I join you?"

"Ahh, Ali, we wondered when you would be out and about, of course come and sit." Dori smiled and motioned with his project to the chair opposite him.

Jumping up Ali managed to get into the chair without much problem. Although when she turned back around she found Ori's face down and ears turning red. Suddenly self conscious she pulled her hair forward and cleared her throat. "What are you gentlemen working on?"

"Oh just a scarf or two for the company, when we journey through the mountains it will be rather cold." Dori smiled over as Ori concentrated intensely on his own. "If you would like we could knit you one as well."

Those words hit her in the stomach like a fist. "What? Why would you do that?"

"What do you mean? Your part of the company of course," Dori stated rather matter of factly as he clicked away.

Part of the company, they considered her part of the company. Ali had never been made part of something by another before. Sure she had been on the gymnastics team, but that's cause she had signed up for it, they couldn't get rid of her. They made a point to never pair up with her though and never talk to her unless necessary. Now here she was a part of something, and it was making her stupidly emotional.

"I...I would love a scarf," Ali said, trying not to let the emotion show in her voice.

"Here, y…you can have this one, if you like of course," Ori held out what he had just been working on. It was a pretty sky blue, each knit was soft yet sturdy as Ali took it in her hands, long enough to wrap several times around her neck and then fall to her waist.

"It's so beautiful," Ali whispered still playing with the stitching.

Dori laughed, "It's just a scarf, not a thing of beauty."

Ali couldn't help the smile that spread across her face, "I think it is, and I'll treasure it forever," she hopped off her chair. "I best be off now, I've other tiny adventures that await." She didn't tell them that this was the first thing anyone had ever given her, that was over sharing.

"A bit odd isn't she?" Ori asked pulling more yarn from his bag as the pair watched her bounce away.

"Yes, but then again we have never met a tourist before, could be that she is rather normal by their standards." Dori tutted, "strangely fascinated by scarves though, wonder what would happen if she were given mittens?"

"Maybe they don't knit where she's from?" Ori shrugged, it was easier to think when she wasn't around.

"Must crochet there," Dori turned back to his work and Ori nodded in agreement.

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><p><em>Whew, all the serious question answering is done!<em>

_Well for the most part, I have a light hearted couple chapters to follow :)_

_Thank you everyone who has favorited, followed, and reviewed_

_If you have questions, comments, general statements about life, I'd love to hear them_

_Till next time, muah :)_


	8. Chapter 8

It was hard not to feel as light as a balloon while Ali skipped down the hall, her new scarf tied proudly around her neck. She received several looks from the slender elves as she passed, but she was used to looks. Good looks, bad looks, didn't matter because she ignored their looks. Ali was a woman on a mission, a mission that needed a theme song.

Dun dun dun dunn duuuun…no too Star Warsy. Dun…..dun…DUNN…. too dramatic. Waaa dun nnnn waaa waaaaaaaa, Ali stopped herself there, way too much like the terrible seagull from The Little Mermaid.

"Ooooooo, too much spice ya dunce! Tryin ta kill us all is what yer doin!" Ali stopped mid skip, leaning back to peer through the doorway she was about to pass. Now she wasn't going to claim to know much about elves or anything for that matter, but if she knew anything at all, that was not what one would sound like.

Tip toeing in revealed her suspicions to be true. Standing in the kitchen around a boiling pot was none other than Bombur, Gloin, and Oin. Bombur was stirring the pot with what looked like a paddle as it hung in the fireplace, mumbling something that she couldn't catch.

"Bet if you threw in some bat wings and eye of newt it would help balance that flavor," Ali suggested as she walked up behind them. They really did look like a bunch of witches around a caldron.

Gloin and Bombur turned to look at her, eyes as big as saucers. "Ya really eat that lassie?" Gloin asked.

"What, no, it was a joke, cause of how you three look," Ali tried to explain.

"Recipe book?" Oin turned to her eyebrows knitted together, "no we dwarves cook from our family's recipes, nothing is written. Not our fault Bombur's family has no sense ah'taste."

"See you do better!" Bombur protested and shoved the paddle in Gloin's hands.

"I started the fire," Gloin shoved the paddle back.

"Ya haven't done a thing, why are you tired?" Oin shoved his brother who growled.

"Not tired, ya blithering fool, where's ya blasted listening horn?" Gloin grumbled.

"Yes, could use some corn," Oin nodded leaning on his staff.

Bombur's face lit up at the idea, and he tottered off. Meanwhile Gloin was trying to explain to his brother what he was saying while Oin was yelling over him about not understanding. It was frankly surprising that they had actually gotten that much in the pot at all.

"Lassie, over here," Ali turned at the sound of Bombur's calling. He was standing in the pantry waving for her to come over, looking bright eyed and bushy tailed. He had found the corn all right, it was all the way on the top shelf, out of reach of any their stature.

"Blasted elves and their shelving," Gloin mumbled coming to stand next to the both of them. As the four of them stood looking up at the corn Ali couldn't help but feel a bit comical.

"I don't like shellfish," Oin muttered next to her.

"Shelving," she corrected grabbing a hold of the lowest shelf, it shouldn't be that difficult to climb up there. It really wasn't hard at all, she thought as she grabbed the corn.

"We can see up ya skirt lassie," Oin bellowed.

Ali had entirely forgotten that she was wearing a skirt! "Well don't look!" She gasped grabbing her skirt and pulling it against her legs, letting go of the shelf. "Oh shoot," she reached out for the shelf again as she began to fall but her hand slipped off the smooth wood.

Thankfully she landed softly in Bombur's arms, resting on his huge stomach. He bellowed out a laugh as she rolled out of his arms.

"I got the corn at least," Ali handed over her prize.

"I got ma horn right here," Oin smiled at them finally lifting his hearing horn to his ear as Gloin rolled his eyes.

"The lassie said corn!" Gloin yelled into the horn before storming back into the kitchen.

They continued arguing about the food as Ali climbed up onto a stool and grabbed an end of bread from the counter. As she nibbled away at it she watched them argue back and forth about nutmeg. Bombur insisted he should add more, Gloin insisted it was meant only for pie, Oin yelled about tent pegs. She didn't even need to say anything as she grabbed another chunk of bread and slipped to the door.

It was Bombur who noticed she was gone first, looking around the counter as Gloin stuffed the nutmeg in his pocket so Bombur wouldn't add more.

"Suppose tourists really eat bat wings?" Bombur queried as he went back to stirring the pot.

"What?" Gloin asked as he threw bay leaves in while Bombur was looking at the door, accidently upturning the whole jar in his rush. "Suppose they might, funny bunch those tourists, helpful as all hell."

Oin just nodded not actually hearing a word they were saying, "bit hot for scarves don't ya think?"

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><p>It was not hard to find the next bunch, they were making about as much noise as the others where in the kitchen. Ali found her way to what she could only assume was some sort of training ground. Fili and Kili stood in the middle of the small clearing facing one another, sword in hand. A sheen of sweat covering their bare chests, or maybe bare wasn't the right word since each had an impressive amount of chest hair. Not too much though, Ali thought as she leaned against the railing of the staircase she had stopped on.<p>

"What are ya doin?" Dwalin bellowed making Ali jump a foot in the air, "this is ah fight, not ah dance." Dwalin strutted his way over to the brothers wielding his duel axes, as if he were about to take them both on at once. "Ah, looks like we got ourselves a little audience," Dwalin boomed when he saw her, the other two turned to look as well.

Ali's face heated up immediately when she realized how potentially creepy she was watching a group of shirtless men. The brothers waved her over but she shook her head.

"Come on then, we don't bite," Fili yelled waving his sword around, "it's strictly against the rules."

"Lassie if yer gonna be travelin with us, ya can't be afraid of a sword," Dwalin bumped Kili lightly on the shoulder. As if it was some sort of sign Kili dropped his sword and jogged over to the stairs.

"No!" Ali yelled, and moved down the stairs, she was the one who wanted to actually meet everyone, it was her job to go over to them. "I'm coming."

As she walked up she definitely felt out of place. These three men were built like bricks, she wasn't even sure if they had a lick of fat on them. Then there was her, soft and squishy, barely squeezed into this dress.

"Weapon of choice lass?" Dwalin asked looking down at her, possibly more intimidating without a shirt than in full armor. She must have taken too long in answering though because he held up his axes. "This here be Grasper and this be Keeper."

Ali nodded, she didn't have a weapon, didn't know the first thing about swords. Instead she held up her fists, "this is lefty and this is righty." The three just stared at her, as if assessing whether or not she was being serious. Kili doubled over laughing followed closely by Fili.

"Yer joking ya?" Dwalin glared down at her.

"No, righty here is my main man, deadly as they come. Lefty on the other hand well he's a loose cannon, gotta watch that one." Ali waved her fist under Dwalin's nose shifting from one foot to the other as if she was ready to fight. Achieving another roar of laughter from the brothers, Dwalin looked less than impressed.

"Ya expect ta intimidate me with yer tiny fists," Dwalin scoffed.

"Well no, not exactly," Ali shrugged, "if I had a sword would you be intimidated?"

Kili breathed out a sigh and wiped a tear from his eye, "oh Mahal no, might just make me laugh even harder, could you even lift one?" That was a good question.

"So what is yer plan for self defense?" Dwalin growled.

Self defense, that was a difficult one, Ali didn't actually think she had ever defended herself against anything. She had taken some Tae Kwon Do back in the day but only managed a green belt. "Well I suppose I would use Jazz Hands." The three men looked at one another then back at her confused. "It's a basic distraction technique, simply wave your hands as such, then strike." Ali shook her hands open palmed then lightly kicked Fili in the shin.

His eye widened with surprise, but that was the best she had. "That's it, distract them?" Fili looked at his brother, then back down to her.

"What would your suggestion be?" Ali put her hands on her hips and watched each of them in turn. Kili opened his mouth and then shut it again, Fili tilted his head to the side and let out a breath, eyebrows knitting together. Even Dwalin scratched his head with Grasper, obviously thinking this through.

"Why are ya so tiny?" Dwalin finally groaned.

"I'm not that much shorter than you guys," it was true in a way, she stood the same height as Bilbo.

"S'not so much yer height lass, as yer size," Dwalin shook his head. It was true, even Kili, the lightest of them had forearms the size of her neck if not more.

"Tell you what, if it comes to a fight, just get behind us, we will watch out for you." Fili smiled at her and laid a giant hand on her shoulder. It was comforting, yet heavy, both his hand and his comment. In the end she was supposed to be in front of them, if not only for a second. Shaking her head Ali pushed the thought aside, there was no use getting all sentimental already.

"Now run along and bother some other dwarf, we best be git'in back ta trainin'. Believe Bofur en them wandered off that'a way," Dwalin pointed with Keeper.

"Thanks," Ali waved as she wandered off yet again, happy that she wasn't actually roped into sparring.

"Think there's much fighting where Ali's from?" Kili said when she was out of hearing.

"Na, that's ah soft place if anything," Dwalin growled.

"Hey Kili," Fili shook one hand in front of Kili's face like she had showed them then brought another hard into his gut. Kili doubled over coughing. "Can't argue with the results though."

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><p>They had been right about her finding Bofur off this way. He sat on a small hill smoking and whittling away with his brother Bifur as Ali moseyed up. Bofur smiled from ear to ear as he caught sight of her, dipping his head in a small greeting. Bifur muttered something but continued without looking up.<p>

"Ah, what brings the little lassie to our neck of the woods?" Bofur pulled his pipe from his mouth and tapped it out, "come now grab some turf."

"Just wandering around talking to everyone, I acted badly yesterday and it made me realize I didn't properly know you guys." Ali sighed as she plopped down next to him. "What are you guys making?"

"Well I'm jus carvin a doll, Bifur here is makin a bird of sorts," Bofur leaned in and whispered the rest, "though I believe it was suppose ta be a teapot."

Bifur roar in frustration hurling the block of wood across the clearing, then folded his arms across his chest muttering as he turned away. As Bofur turned to his brother and laid a hand on his shoulder trying to reassure him that it was an excellent bird indeed, Ali got up to look for the toy.

Finally toy in hand Ali walked back over to them, turning the small block of wood over in her hands. It really did look like a bird so she didn't know why he was so upset. This time she took a seat next to the injured dwarf and offered the block back to him. Bifur snorted and made no move to take it from her. She looked to Bofur for advice but he just shrugged.

"Can be a bit temperamental at times, as a woman I suspect you'd understand," Bofur turned his piece over and smoothed out part of the skirt. That was sexist, but with her behavior the other day not totally uncalled for so she let it slide.

Instead she nudged the block into Bifur's hand though he still refused to take it. This time she grabbed his hand and turned it over, placing the block in his palm and wrapping his hand around it. "Bifur I think it looks like a very beautiful bird, it would make me sad if you didn't try and finish it."

Slowly Bifur curled his fingers around the bird, looking sad enough to break her heart. Then he did a 180 and sat up strait, eyes wide, he started talking so fast that she was sure she wouldn't be able to understand even if they weren't in Khuzdul.

"What just happened?" Ali asked as she sat back and looked over to Bofur.

Bofur just smiled and shook his head at his own work.

"From the sound of it, you made a new friend," a new voice cut in and startled her. Turning around she saw Nori strutting out of the bushes and flopped down next to Bofur. "Beautiful day isn't it?"

There was a shift in the air around them, some sort of tension crackled around them. Confused Ali did her best to not make it too obvious that she noticed. Bifur was now humming along swaying back and forth as little pieces of wood fell from his hands. Nori laid out lazily with his eyes closed, propped up on one elbow watching his friends work. It was Bofur that was off. Still he chipped away at his project, still he sat smiling ear to ear, but he didn't seem nearly as relaxed as before.

If she hadn't been trying to figure out what had changed she might not have seen it. Fast as a snake Nori had reached into Bofur's jacket pocket and withdrawn something.

"Put it back," Ali chastised before she could stop herself.

The three of them turned to her, Bifur and Bofur both with a confused look, Nori with shocked eyes.

"You saw that?" Nori asked but didn't move to replace the item.

"Yes I did, now give it back to Bofur," Ali said again.

He didn't give it back, instead he bolted upright and took off down the path sending grass and dirt flying into the air, laughing.

"Don't worry lassie, he always gives it back," Bofur tried to interject but Ali was already running after.

The two brothers watched them until they were out of sight and then went back to work. Bofur would get his pipe back, he always did. Beside him Bifur began to ramble in Khuzdul and Bofur nodded.

"Yea, tourists got a weird way 'bout them, never know what ta suspect," Bofur gently blew some wood chips from the doll. "Got a keen eye on 'er though."

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><p><em>Ahhh, another light hearted lovely chapter for everyone :)<em>

_Not to despair though, Thorin will be back in the next chapter!_

_Thanks to all the fav/follows I've gotten so far!_

_Please review if you have any questions, comments, critiques_

_Reviews are what keep me going lol_


	9. Chapter 9

Ali didn't have to run for long before she had lost the blasted dwarf, although it was enough to get her entirely too tangled in the low trees. As she tugged her hair out of yet another branch she cursed ever thinking that it would be a good idea to leave it down. There was simply too much hair and too many sticks. Finally she stumbled out, scalp sore, and scarf still intact at least.

"Well you look a right mess," Bilbo chuckled as Ali spun towards him surprised. "Feeling better today?"

Sheepishly Ali grinned, attempting to pull some leaves out of her hair without him noticing. "Yea, much better, think I may be getting things figured out."

Bilbo just rolled his eyes from his seat on the small stone wall. "Come here and I'll help," he motioned for her to sit in the space between his legs. Ali was hesitant for a moment as he tapped out his pipe and stashed it in a jacket pocket, but she moved over none the less.

They fell into a comfortable bit of small talk, mostly about the shire, Bag End, some sort of atrocious woman names Lobelia. It was pleasant as he pulled gently on her hair, ridding it of all debris that she had picked up during her escapade.

"Mind if I pull it up in a braid?" Bilbo asked, though from the feel of it he was already starting, so Ali just hummed in agreement. It was relaxing to say the least. It felt like something a mother would do for their daughter.

"What's going on?" Someone asked, pulling both Bilbo's and Ali's attentions down the path to see Balin watching them.

"Just having a bit of a chat is all," Bilbo said before returning to his work.

Balin didn't look good though as his eyes darted back the way he came. There was something wrong but Ali didn't know what. As she opened her mouth to ask Balin cut her off.

"Master hobbit, if you know what's good for you I would stop at once," Balin cautioned, looking more nervous than ever.

"What do you mean? I'm almost done as it is," Bilbo protested and continued his work.

Ali didn't know what to do. On one hand Bilbo was just braiding her hair, nothing that he should have to stop. On the other hand it made Ali worried to see a man like Balin looking so nervous, surely there was a proper reason.

"Balin, I do not believe this is the way to…" Thorin cut off as he walked around the last tree and saw them. His brows furrowed, "what's going on?" He asked echoing Balin's earlier question.

Ali felt as though someone had sucked all the air out of the clearing as Thorin's jaw clenched shut. It felt as though they had been caught doing something terrible, like writing in library books, or worse not returning them. Balin quickly moved between the Thorin and them, but he looked right past Ali and to Bilbo.

"I'd run as fast as those feet will carry you Bilbo," Balin snapped. This time Bilbo didn't argue, he was bolting around the corner before Ali even had time to register the snarl that ripped from Thorin's chest. Shoving the older dwarf Thorin tried to follow only to be spun around and dropped quickly on his back. Balin taking a seat on his chest, Ali made a note to remember how quick he was for his age. "Don't blame Master Bilbo, he was unaware of his actions."

Ali stood up awkwardly, feeling as if they had forgotten she was in the clearing at all. She wanted to ask what had just happened, maybe Bilbo had done something before she had arrived?

"And where do you think you're going?" Balin asked as Ali turned to slink off.

"To check on Bilbo?" Ali asked, hoping that was the right answer. As Balin shook his head she guessed it wasn't.

"You two," Balin motioned to her and then Thorin, who was still pinned under him, "have got some talking to do." Balin heaved himself up, pulling Thorin with him, "I will go have a word with our Burglar."

Ali wanted to stop him as he walked past, grab his arm and beg him not to leave her here alone with Thorin. Instead she watched him walk past and out of sight, staring at the path were he disappeared. Heart in her throat Ali turned back, the angry dwarf had pushed himself up entirely now. Though as he patted the dust from his clothes he glared at her, making it very clear that he was here out of duty not want.

He had shed his heavy coat earlier and stood in a royal blue tunic and black pants. Ali didn't know why she was noticing his clothes though and mentally kicked herself for letting her gaze linger before dropping it back down to the ground.

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><p>It had only been a day since he had seen her last, but Ali looked entirely different. She looked…well…beautiful, but that didn't seem enough. Before she had been gorgeous, in her strange baggy clothes, now she was mind blowing. Thorin felt as though he was actually seeing what she looked like, seeing the curves, her skin, her hair flowing.<p>

If there was one thing that wasn't different from before it was her thoughts on Thorin. Ali stood with her arms crossed before her stomach, looking anywhere that wasn't him. He could see the red mark painted across her cheek, it made rage boil in his chest because he knew that he was at fault. Then there was that hobbit, Thorin's stomach churned when he realized what was going on a second ago.

"So…I should apologize I guess," Ali said clearing her throat. "I acted pretty stupid yesterday, and I understand why you would be mad."

Thorin was at a loss, he had never expected this. Immediately his anger subsided, "no I should apologize, my behavior was unacceptable, I should never have struck you." There, he had said it.

Ali's eyes darted up, finally meeting his, "that was you?"

That was it, Thorin was done for. All this fear from her and she didn't even know that it had been him that had hit her. Now she would never look at him again, never sit close, never allow him to reach out. At that moment Thorin didn't want to live, if he could drive his One away so easily than he had no right to rule anyone.

"I would have done it to," Ali shrugged, catching him off guard, "I was being a total pain in the butt."

"So, you are not angry?" Thorin asked still guarding himself, this was not what he had expected.

"Angry? No, I'm not angry. Although I am just a bit shaken up still, there's just so much I don't really understand, and misunderstandings between myself and the company." Ali sat back against the little stone wall that Bilbo had just occupied.

"Maybe I can help, what is it you don't understand?" Thorin asked, hoping this was the chance he needed to get closer.

Ali just shook her head, "you would think I'm crazy."

"You could give it a try," Thorin prodded.

"I'm not from around here, obviously. Where I'm from all of this," Ali waved her hands around, vaguely gesturing to everything, "is considered fairy tales. There are no dwarves, or elves, or wizards. I thought, this was all fake, I thought this was just a game. I didn't realize I wasn't home anymore." Ali was drawing little squares in the dirt with the toe of her boot, obviously embarrassed.

This all sounded rather strange to Thorin, why would he play this as a game? Would someone really consider this sort of thing a game? Cautiously Thorin lowered himself onto the wall next to her, gauging her reaction, but there was none. "If this is not your home, then how did you get here? Why are you here?"

"I was pulled from my home by a woman named Galadriel so that I could travel with you," Ali said, still drawing her little shapes. "She says that I need to be with you at the final battle so that…"

That's where she stopped, Thorin didn't know what to make of it. Slowly she turned and looked up at him. It was almost too much for him to look down into her blue eyes and not get lost, not reach out and kiss her.

"So that I could be there when you reclaim your home," Ali muttered, looking away again.

Thorin knew she was hiding something, even if she wasn't his One she was as easy to read as a book. They had never spoken like this before though, it was something that he found he didn't want to end just yet. Instead he just cleared his throat, threading his fingers together between his knees. "That does sound rather strange. So there are no dwarves?"

"Nope, just humans," Ali muttered.

There were no dwarves, meaning that she didn't know about braids, or Ones, or any of that. Thorin could feel a bit of anxiety leave, he had to remember that most outside his own race did not know these things. He would apologize to the hobbit next time he saw him.

This was his moment though, he wanted to tell her everything, confess his love. Thorin wanted to place his own braid in her hair, hold her close and explain what being his One meant. These feelings burned like the hearths of Erebor, wild and hot, but under control for now. He wanted to do everything for her but couldn't. How could he when she so obviously didn't trust him. Even now she sat coiled and ready to spring at any given second, any movement of his that she didn't expect. If he were to add all that to this already shaky conversation, that would surely be the end of it all.

"Well, I…I should get going, have to check and make sure they didn't destroy the kitchen," Ali laughed half-heartedly and jumped up. It physically hurt to watch his One so ready to be out of his company. This was going to be harder than anything he had ever undertaken before.

Standing Thorin decided to see if Balin would be able to advise him on his next step.

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><p>Ali was still kicking herself for that stupid excuse to leave. Hell she didn't know if she could even find the kitchen again after this morning. It had just been too much, sitting there alone with Thorin.<p>

Oh heavens, was Thorin…was Thorin…well…what exactly was Thorin? He was hot, but she was sure he knew that, but it was more than that. When he was so close she felt warm, heat literally rolled off of that man, although that might be a dwarf thing. Ali could have asked but she didn't know if that would be racist, like asking if all Asians were short. Being as she was always cold though, especially in this low cut top, it had been a chore not to shimmy over and warm up by him.

"Oh god I sound like some sort of reptile," Ali pouted, although she noted that she had stopped walking all together to stand in the sun.

There was more to him than that, Ali thought, beginning her now slow meander down the hall. She could tell that there was so much going on below the surface that he was trying to hide. She didn't know why though, was it because she wasn't a dwarf? Was it because he was a king? Was it because he was just that way?

Ali froze, Thorin was a king…if this was all real then that meant he was a king. Ali had just sat there spouting nonsense to a man who had real problems, people to lead, someone important. Actually he was the only king she had ever met, though she had met a lord before. Lord Vigtor (with a g, very important to note that he had said) lived in the same park she had frequented. He said that he had traveled through time and space to warn everyone of something that he could no longer remember. Even still that meant that Thorin was the most important person she had ever spoken to. Yet she had just run off, she hadn't even curtseyed, she had curtseyed for Lord Vigtor.

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><p><em>There it is :) The start of something wonderful I hope<em>

_Stay tuned for the next installment where they will be off again on their journey!_


	10. Chapter 10

No matter the amount of fighting that had gone on in the kitchen, dinner had tasted amazing. Possibly a tad heavy on the amount of bay leaves that Ali had picked out of her stew but she had picked leaves out of food before. There was laughing, drinking, singing, and food, this time without the threat to Bilbo's dishes.

As Ali began her meander back to her room her heart felt light, and she didn't even bother to try and remove the now permanent smile on her face. These guys were rough there was no doubt about that, but they were also kind, happy, and honest. They had pulled her right into their group at dinner instead of talking amongst themselves.

Dwalin had continued to bark over advice on how to fight, little tid bits he thought might come in handy. Fili sat beside her and thanked her for teaching him Jazz Hands, saying it was most effective against his brother. Kili sported a red cheek, but had to admit that there was something to be said about tourist defense tactics. Bifur had yanked Kili off his seat on her other side and had taken his place, shoving the bird toy into her hands. Nori had tried on several occasions to make a pass behind her and steal something, but each time she swatted his hand until defeated he returned to his brothers. Dori and Ori handed out their scarves, handing Ali a pair of velvety blue mittens, Ali pulled them both into a hug. Bofur chided into everyone's conversation at one point or another. Bombur…well Bombur ate, as Bombur's often do. Oin and Gloin sat together, making less of a racket with the others and more of a racket just trying to communicate to each other.

Then there was Thorin and Balin. Thorin sat at the head of the table, which Ali was sure any king would sit if given the choice. Tonight Thorin was relaxed in his chair, leaning against the arm closest to Balin they exchanged quiet words every so often. Every once in a while a smile would play on his lips as he looked at his company.

It took everything Ali had not to just stare at him at dinner and wait for one of those little smiles. Once when he glanced over she was sure he caught her watching him, and she had done her best to not blush. Their talk still played through her mind, Ali a bit unsure of what to make of it. Did that mean that they were cool now? Or was this some sort of dwarf mind trick to make her feel like everything was okay? It was all sorts of complicated that Ali didn't really have the experience to handle.

Ali had given that dinner her all though, chatting, singing, yelling with the rest of them. She had sat through the longest speech about Gimli, Gloin's son. She even got up on the table and locked arms with Bofur and danced around in circles. She did feel torn, part of her wanted to hide in the corner like normal, but the other part was actually happy for once.

Even still it was something. As Ali wandered to her room she ran her hand along the smooth stone wall. It was still all so surreal, being in a different world where mythical creatures existed. Though she couldn't find it in herself to feel sad, she had left nothing behind, and moved on to find that she could make something of herself.

The thought made her feel all warm and fluttery inside without even needing to drink anything.

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><p>The next morning Ali stretched awake on her oversized bed, the first rays of sunshine not yet peaking over the hills outside her window. She was too excited to stay in bed though as she gracelessly rolled off and landed on the floor. Last night when she had arrived at her room there was a new set of clothes folded neatly on her bed along with her old clothes. Apparently they had seen her struggle with the last set and changed it up a bit.<p>

So now Ali yanked on a pair of black trousers and pulled a similar green tunic over her head. Hopping she tried to affix her belt and pull her boots on at the same time only to fall on her butt.

"Why am I rushing?" Ali asked herself, it just felt as though she should be and she couldn't explain it. Doing her best she slowed it down, pulling on her last boot and lacing it up when someone knocked at her door. Before she even had the chance to stand up they were pounding against the wood again.

"Hold your horses," Ali yelled. Pulling the door open she was surprised to see Gandalf standing there.

As she opened her mouth he held up a hand to cut her off. "No time, we have to leave at once." Then turned and strode off before she could say anything.

It was strange enough that Ali snapped her mouth shut, turned around and grabbed her sweater before running off down the hall after him pulling her scarf around her neck. They continued in silence while moving through the halls, the questions began to burn in her chest. Where were they going? When would the others be joining them? Was something wrong?

"Quiet you're thought for now, we will talk in a bit," Gandalf almost snapped at her, though she could tell there was something that was putting him on edge. This time she placed her fingers on her lips to make sure they remained still. Though as they walked across the bridge and back to the trail Ali could feel her panic tightening in her chest.

She couldn't hold it in any longer, "where's everyone else?"

"Huh?" Gandalf glanced behind him as if he had forgotten she was even there.

"Where are the dwarves? Where's Bilbo," Ali repeated.

"They went on ahead, don't fret we will catch up in no time," Gandalf said with a forced cheerful tone.

"Why didn't they wake us up?" Ali asked, jogging along behind trying to keep up with the surprisingly fast pace he had set.

"I was in a meeting with the council," Gandalf answered.

"I wasn't, why didn't they come get me?" Ali asked again, tripping over a rock.

"Well…I suppose they assumed you would be better suited to travel with me?" Gandalf sounded like he was asking now.

"But they took Bilbo, why would he travel with them and I travel with you?" Ali could tell he was becoming annoyed but continued anyways.

"Perhaps they thought he would be of more use with them," Gandalf huffed.

"So they thought I wouldn't be useful?" Ali asked, a voice in the back of her mind telling her not to be too surprised. They had only spent like one or two really good days together, what had she expected really.

"That's not what I meant," Gandalf muttered, picking up his pace.

It was alright, sure it hurt a little, made her feel a little sick, but was she surprised, no. In all fairness they didn't know her, didn't even know why she was here, or what she could do. This certainly wasn't an end all be all of her confidence. It would just take a bit more time to prove to them that she was worth dragging around.

Ali picked up her pace again, concentrating on not falling down the cliff face. This was the time to think of something that she was actually good at, something that might come in handy.

* * *

><p>It had been dark for a little while when Gandalf finally stepped into the small cave. This was where the dwarves had entered the mountain, it stank of goblins. Nothing these dwarves did was ever easy was it? As it was the large gaping hole in the floor was going to be difficult enough to maneuver.<p>

Then there was Ali, after her interrogation earlier she had spent the rest of the day in silence. It was an odd sort of silence, one that was hard for him to read properly. Though to be fair everything about her was shrouded by the veil to him. It made him uncomfortable to know that she may be capable of things beyond even his own abilities, capable of things she wasn't even aware of yet.

He had spoken to Galadriel about her, learned why she was here. The whole situation didn't feel right to him, asking her to choose life or death when she was at such a young age. Then those blasted dwarves had left her, most likely due to Thorin's growing feelings. Yes Gandalf knew, any magical user could feel the raw power of a bond. Now she stood behind him peering down into the abyss with what looked more like curiosity than fear.

"Are we going down there?" Ali asked leaning over the edge.

"I'm afraid we are," Gandalf sighed, this would be so much easier if he were alone.

To his surprise she turned and began to shimmy down the hole without another word. If there was nothing else this girl had determination. It must have been that that Galadriel had seen when she chose Ali, though Gandalf still wondered what fate Ali would choose at the end.

* * *

><p><em>Oh holy month this has been!<em>

_Work has been crazy, my internet wasn't working and no one knew why, and writers block._

_But no more! I'm back to begin adding more chapters to Ali's tale! Yay!_

_Please rate and review as always, I just loving seeing what you guys have to say :)_

_Thank you all for reading, muah!_


	11. Chapter 11

Oh sweet baby Jesus did it smell bad. Like some awful mix of men's locker room, dumpster behind a day care, and city bus fumes. Ali swallowed and pushed the thoughts away as she continued down the cave. Climbing was easy, she was able to feel her way down the wall, but she couldn't see the bottom and that scared her.

Perhaps she should have asked how deep the cave was or how long they would be climbing before she had actually started. Perhaps she should have asked what they were climbing down this hole for. Perhaps she should have questioned why she wanted the dwarves approval so much. Ali could perhaps all she wanted but it didn't change the fact that she hadn't done any of that. Her legs were burning when she finally saw the flickering light of a torch. Jumping down onto the somewhat unstable bridge Ali's knees gave out and thumped painfully against the boards.

"This way, hurry!" Gandalf strode passed her his voice low. How had he gotten down here first!?

Ali opened her mouth to ask but he was already rushing off, leaving her stumbling to her feet after him. Perhaps he had used his magic, she thought, jogging close on his heels. Ali realized then that she didn't really know much, if anything about Gandalf, or wizards. It seemed the only thing she could bet money on was that the rules that normal people lived by didn't apply here anymore.

Even with all the thinking Ali was still interrupted by the stench, it felt as though nothing would ever distract her from it. The heat only seemed to amplify it more as they continued along the path Ali pulled her sweater off and tied it tightly around her hips. Around her little dilapidated houses clung desperately to the cave walls and she wondered how the occupants could stand living down here.

Also where were they? Normally not a strange thought, but the memory of the orc attack Galadriel had shown her made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. What if this is where orcs lived?

As if he could hear her thoughts Gandalf stopped short and spun to look down at her. Ali almost ran into him before she could stop. Kneeling down Gandalf brought them to the same height. It was strange the way he looked at her, as if he wanted to say several different things but was unsure how to start.

"We don't have much time, this is the home of the Goblin King. If we hesitate the dwarves may come to harm, so I'm going to need you to follow close. When we are free of the caves then we will have much to talk about. Do you understand?" Gandalf spoke low, placing one hand on her shoulder.

"I understand," Ali managed to squeak out past what she was sure was her heart in her throat. Goblins? What on Earth, or whatever world this was, was a goblin? As Gandalf began striding down the paths again Ali felt washed by a cold sensation. Somehow Gandalf didn't seem scared at all, was it just her?

Then it came into view. It was definitely the largest underground cavern that she had ever seen. All around them the haphazard paths and bridges littered the walls, looking closer to falling down than Ali felt comfortable with. In the middle of the cavern, all of the goblins were gathered, it wasn't hard to miss, they were making quite a ruckus over something.

"Oh dear God, they've been caught," Ali gasped as she saw the dwarves at the center of the mass. "Gandalf, we have to help them!" Ali tried to move around him but he held his arm in her way.

"Hold one second," Gandalf whispered, concentrating on what the huge jiggling one was crying out.

All Ali had to hear was the part about them only paying for Thorin's head. The jiggly one was planning on killing him and selling his head. Pain slashed across her heart and Ali shoved Gandalf's hand away, there was no way she could wait for that to potentially become a reality.

"I said follow me," Gandalf snapped, yanking her shoulder back so that she stumbled behind him. "I am going to light the cavern soon, be careful to shield your eyes." Gandalf added a bit softer.

Ali was fuming, Gandalf was not moving with the amount of urgency she felt building up in her chest. She wanted to charge in there fast and she wanted to go now. Like he promised Gandalf raised his staff as she had seen him do in the clearing before turning the trolls to stone. Not heeding his warning though Ali let the light carry her as if it was a shield and pushed forward.

Not as graceful as a rescue as she would have liked as she stumbled almost blinded onto the platform. Ali grabbed the first dwarf she could find and started dragging him to his feet.

"Now would be a good time to run!" Ali yelled, yanking on Bifur's incredibly heavy arm. Behind her Gandalf was yelling for them to get moving and it must have shook them from their stupor. So when the wizard yells for them to run they'll listen but not when she does? These guys were going to have to learn a thing or two, and quickly.

Bifur sprung up as one of the goblins also shook awake and launched towards her. Quickly he spun her around into another's arms as he landed a crushing blow across its face.

"I thought we left you at Rivendell?" Thorin grunted, deflecting a blow with his sword as he spun them both to follow Dori down a bridge. "It would have been safer for you to have stayed back."

They were interrupted as Thorin dodged back, barely missed by a stray arrow. Quickly they were caught by three or four of the misshapen creatures. He was fast dispatching the first, knocking it at her feet. The goblin twitched for a second before shuttering to a stop and dropping its crude shield.

Without a second thought Ali snatched it from the ground and swung the uneven thing at the last approaching goblin. "I don't care!" Ali cried as flat surface caught its face and rocketed it over the side. If it weren't for all the goblins screaming and attacking randomly Ali might have felt touched that they had left her behind out of concern for her safety.

Unfortunately now was not the time for sentimental feelings as Thorin grabbed her arm and began running again. Together they dodged falling debris, arrows, swords, and sometimes just the bodies of falling goblins.

It was pure and utter chaos, Ali almost couldn't even tell what was happening around her as dwarf and goblin fought. Silently she prayed that each dwarf was safe, though she couldn't seem to spot Bilbo. He was here, she told herself, probably way up ahead with the others.

Out of nowhere Dwalin came roaring up to them, slicing open a goblin that Ali hadn't even noticed behind her. Turing Thorin nodded to Dwalin then glared down to Ali.

"It would have been safer for the company," Thorin stepped back from a blow and kicked the goblin off the edge, "to not be distracted trying to protect you as well."

There it was, Ali was a burden, it hurt when the words hit her. Somehow she had to prove she could hold her own, somehow she had to show them that she didn't need to be protected. Twisting her wrist Ali freed her arm from his grasp.

"What are you doing?" Thorin barked as Ali swung her shield point blank into another goblin, causing him to stumble she planted a kick to his head and knocked him off the side. Thank you little bit of Tae Kwan Do.

"I don't need you to hold my hand," Ali blurted as she ran down the path ahead of him, trying to catch up with the group ahead of them. From what she could tell Dwalin, Kili, and Fili were behind them and the rest ahead. The path was narrow and winding but she could see them ahead, lucky for her they had already knocked out most of goblins along the way.

"Ali wait!" Thorin yelled from a ways behind her, but Ali didn't listen. Instead she took a leap over a fallen box and rolled. Sure it was hella painful since it had been so many years since she had really tried it, but she was able to get to her feet with semi grace so she counted it as a win.

It really wasn't until she plowed into Bombur that she stopped. Almost out of breath Ali moved around him to see what had stopped them. It was the huge jiggly one, standing in the path.

"Now what are you going to do about it wizard," the great blob jiggled with every word he spoke, his face in what some might call smug satisfaction. Ali almost didn't see Gandalf move though as he sliced through the goblin's stomach. "That'll do it."

Its fall was thunderous at best, taking the whole of the bridge with it, and consequently them as well. Ali felt herself lifting off the bridge amide the free fall, suddenly torn. If she fell slower then she would be on top, but if she did then she might be separated from them. Bombur answered her thoughts by grabbing her and nearing breaking her in two as he held her to his chest.

As wood splintered around her, Ali buried her face in Bombur's jacket to avoid the worst. The landing was cushioned greatly by his sheer mass but she knew that they would both be feeling it in the morning.

"Thank you," Ali groaned, trying to squeeze away. Around her the dwarves were groaning as well. Ali was smacked back down suddenly, bashing her head against the board before she could register what happened.

"We've got to keep moving," Gandalf called, already standing in front of the pile of rubble. As Bombur pushed her out of the boards Ali wondered if Gandalf was ever in a compromising position at all. Frankly it seemed as if he was always one step ahead, floating around like the good witch of the north from OZ.

Then they were running again, this time along the ground thank god. Ali's head was swimming though as she did her best to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other and not slowing them down.

"Come on!" Gandalf yelled again as she saw daylight break ahead of them, hearing her name only vaguely as she passed by him. As they broke through the last of the cave Ali drug in a heavy breath, never again would she take air this clean for granted again. Slowly her head cleared as they all began to slow to a stop.

"Where is Bilbo?" Gandalf roared over, Ali's mind suddenly snapped to attention.

How could she have forgotten about Bilbo? Ali's heart pounded worse than her head, she had been trying so hard to get to know the dwarves she had ignored Bilbo. Bilbo was the first one she met, in all reality her first friend.

"Ali," Thorin's face cut in front of her near mad search, but she paid him no mind.

"We have to find Bilbo," Ali tried to move around Thorin but he caught her face in his hands and forced her attention back to him. Tilting her head slightly his dark brows pulled together almost concerned. "He's so small, he could be injured somewhere, we have…"

"You're bleeding," Thorin stated simply, "you should have stayed closer, then this wouldn't have happened."

"Bleeding!?" Ali practically shoved his hands back into his own face, "who cares if I'm bleeding Thorin, Bilbo is still back there somewhere!"

"Perhaps 'e left before we were taken, saw 'im duck out while they be leading us down the path." Bofur interjected, though he looked as shaken as her.

"Actually I'm right here," Bilbo's voice floated over her self induced cloud of panic.

"Why did you come back?" Thorin growled as Ali stepped forward, instantly Thorin stepped between them.

"Well why does it matter, he's back now," Gandalf interrupted, in an almost fake chipper voice.

"It matters. I want to know, why did you come back?" Thorin threw a small look at Ali, though she wasn't sure why.

"Look, I know you doubt me, I know you always have. And you're right... I often think of Bag End. I miss my books, and my armchair, and my garden. See, that's where I belong, that's home. That's why I came back... 'cause you don't have one, a home. It was taken from you. But I will help you take it back if I can." Bilbo looked around to each of them as he spoke, and when he finished Ali wanted to clap. That was perhaps the most beautiful speech she had ever heard anyone say ever.

If it were not for a sudden howl Ali would have pushed her way around Thorin to give Bilbo a big hug. Instead Thorin was once again dragging her along behind him like some sort of rag doll.

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><p><em>It feels good to have internet back and be able to post new chapters!<em>

_As always I'm totally open to comments and suggestions about the story, like most people writing on here I'm here to learn and get better_

_Please review and I'll keep up to date with my updates_

_Thank you and Muah_


	12. Chapter 12

Ali hadn't the time to protest before she was thrown into the tree, dwarves scrambling everywhere, she strained to see if Bilbo was alright. Already today she had failed to keep an eye on him and was determined not to let that happen again. Though she was decidedly distracted about the time the wolves showed up, the orcs not far behind them.

This time she was prepared for the orcs, or at least she was prepared to not run screaming at the thought of killing orcs. Really that wasn't saying much, since now she felt more inclined to run screaming from the thought of orcs in general. Underneath her a wolf clawed his way uncomfortably high, shaking the tree violently. Panicked Ali moved to climb higher, instead she found herself sailing through the air towards another tree. A small shriek escaped her lips as Bifur caught her and tossed her yet again into Bofur's waiting arms.

"You can't just throw people around like that!" Ali gasped, clutching the trunk of the tree before any more aerial flights were planned out without her permission.

"If we hadn't you would be dead," Thorin snapped, watching the wolves circling beneath their feet.

"You didn't give me a chance," Ali started but stopped when Thorin's icy glare snapped up to her.

"We didn't have time to give you a chance, hesitation will get us all killed." Thorin stated, and that was that.

Around her the tree was shaking, dwarves were yelling over the snarling wolves, and Thorin's attention was drawn by something else. Ali was terrified, not only did it look like they were about to die, but she had cemented that yet again she was going to be the outcast. She didn't even know what she had done. It seemed like all she had to do was exist and it was going to piss someone off.

The tree jerked violently and Ali almost lost her grip on the trunk, beside her Fili reached across her defensively. Perhaps now was not the time for self pity though, as the tree began to fall off over the edge of the cliff. Bracing herself Ali's legs were yanked off the tree but she was able to hang on just barely.

Desperate to hold on Ali clawed at the bark, managing to only pull herself back up by a fraction. Though she knew the longer she hung on the harder it would be to finish pulling herself up.

Just as Ali managed to scrape her elbows up onto the branch Bilbo darted down the trunk past her. While this tree might not have been the safest place ever, she couldn't figure out why on god's green earth he was running TOWARDS the orcs!

"Bilbo stop!" Ali gasped out, scraping her chest and arms against the rough bark. Beneath her, her legs were flailing around for some kind of stable ground, she had to calm down. Pulling herself the rest of the way onto the trunk, Ali hardly stopped to gain her balance.

Ignoring her shaking hands Ali saw something she never wanted to. Thorin lying unconscious on the ground, Bilbo standing alone between him and a white orc, totally unarmed. All eyes were on Bilbo as Ali grabbed the first rock she could find and hurdled it at the orc. Though she hadn't thought she would be able to hit the thing it actually landed a blow across its neck.

Outraged the pale orc roared and turned to see what it was, but Ali was already in search of another rock. This time she nailed him in the chest. Just as she picked up a third, sharper stone the wolf lunged at her, Ali shrieked and dodged, barely avoiding the outstretched paw. Or claws, oh sweet cheese and rice this thing was massive up close! If there was one thing she wished to have for Christmas it was to never see one of these things up close again, or at all, at all would be much better.

Dodging barely again, Ali found herself directly next to the body, basically pressed against the riders leg. Her body moved faster than her mind though as she brought the sharpest edge of the stone down as hard as possible into its pale flesh. Above her the orc roared in what she hoped was pain more than annoyance.

Ali's luck did not hold out though as she felt the warm breath on her back before she was tossed through the air. The wolf had bitten her, or grabbed her for all she knew and threw her across the cliff. Hitting the stone hard she bounced and slid across the loose dirt, her body twisting limply from the impact, before sliding off the side.

The air felt soft on her skin as she fell, as soft as the sheets on her elven bed. Though she didn't have time to relax before she landed quite roughly, face first almost. This time it wasn't rough, but not entirely soft, were these feathers?

Wizards, elves, dwarves, orcs, trolls that turn to stone, now she was riding on the back of the biggest bird to ever fly. Was anything here normal? If she found a frog in the woods and kissed it would it turn into a prince? Carefully she looked up, in front of them were more of the birds and she could just make out the other shapes on their backs. At least this meant that she wasn't an unwelcome rider.

Lying back flat Ali sighed, trying to block out the burning sensation in her shoulder from the wolf bite. She looked a mess, head bleeding, shoulder ripped open, scrapes, and cuts all along her arms and chest. For once in her life she actually wanted to go home. She wanted to curl up on her bench in the park in all her winter gear and have people shake her awake thinking she was some lost child. She wanted to see old people feeding pigeons, couples walked by holding hands, and warm herself by a fire with the other homeless people.

Ali actually sniffed, quickly she ground the palms into her hands against the threat of tears. No tears! Not now, not ever, and that was final. Tears never solved anything; action was an answer that got results. Careful not to sit up and catch the wind like some sort of sail, Ali slid her scarf off. Once all this blew over she would have to apologize to Ori for this, she thought. Wrapping one end around her arm she moved it up and tightened the wrap around her shoulder and securing the loose end around her waist. The pressure felt as though she had trapped a hive of angry bees under her scarf, but at least it was reassuring that she might have stopped the bleeding.

As smoothly as possible she pulled off her sweater, if nothing else at least it was still with her. Carefully she shimmied it over her head, this would at least hide most of the damage, at least it would if they didn't wonder why she had suddenly become so lumpy. Using her good hand she rubbed as much of the now drying blood off her forehead as she could.

As always it was a disaster though, always some sort of embarrassment as her bird stopped short and dumped her off. Ali landed hard on her butt, which was probably the only place that didn't have bruises. Of course as soon as she did the brothers were pulling her to her feet.

"What took you so long?" Kili asked.

"Are you alright?" Fili asked before she could answer.

"I'm sorry, you know what they say about women, we can never get anywhere on time," Ali laughed, it didn't come from the heart but it seemed enough to keep them happy.

"Are you alright?" Fili asked again placing his hand on her bleeding shoulder, unaware of its state. "We lost sight of you after the eagles came and grabbed us."

Ali opened her mouth to say something, but caught Thorin's eye from across the platform. He stood with the sun illuminated behind him, one hand on Bilbo's shoulder. She didn't want to be a burden, injured people moved slower, needed attention, and generally were a bother. No, when she looked at Thorin she knew she couldn't say anything.

Smiling instead she looked back to the brothers, "I'm fine, nothing I can't walk off."

Though Fili shot Thorin an unsure look he dropped his hand, moving to grab his bag. The others began to shuffle around as well, as if suddenly nobody knew what they were actually supposed to be doing. Ali didn't miss the glances they kept throwing Thorin, as if they were waiting for him to drop, or confess that he loved Bilbo.

"So," Balin cleared his throat, "we should get a move on, best we camp at the bottom for the night and let the bodies rest."

"No, we continue on till dark, it is not safe in these woods," Thorin stated, one hand on his sword hilt.

"Nay, Oin should look after the injured, not a one of us got away without a bump or two, you best get that bite looked after. I'd be best if you didn't drop on us when we are almost there." Balin argued. At the mention of bite, Ali's heart jumped into her throat, but Balin didn't turn to look at her. Instead Thorin returned his steely determination silently, yet broke eye contact first.

"I'm fine," Thorin grumbled, "we will camp at the bottom though, let's move out."

At they began to descend Ali watched as they broke up into smaller groups. Fili and Kili moved the fastest, tossing back word that they would try to find something suitable to eat as they darted around the first corner. Next went Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur, if they were as sore as she was they definitely didn't show it. Bombur mused to Bifur about what the brothers might find to eat before Bofur prodded him in the back, claiming to have seen glaciers move faster than the two of them. Nori followed close as well, leaning in to whisper something that made Bofur turn and smile. Dori just rolled his eyes and herded poor Ori on, who was attempting to scribble in his book with such fervor that Ali was surprised the page didn't ignite. Next Gloin followed his brother Oin, watching carefully as if he was afraid the old man would slip and fall down the cliff at any moment.

On the other side of the platform Gandalf, Thorin, Dwalin, and Balin were talking in hushed tones. Ali desperately wanted to know what they were talking about, but she knew it wasn't her place to be asking kings their business.

"Alright, on we go." Bilbo walked up and grabbed her hand, squeezing it ever so gently. For a little bit she let him lead her along the path in quiet before she couldn't take it anymore.

"How are you feeling?" Ali asked, stepping around some fallen stones.

"I'd have to say out of all of us I probably faired the best." Bilbo chuckled, bouncing around the path as if to prove some point. "Probably the worst off would be Thorin."

"That's right, Thorin was bitten by a wolf," Ali remembered.

"Warg," Bilbo interjected.

"What?" Ali asked, it sounded as though he had just blurted random letters.

"That giant wolf was a warg," Bilbo said again, "don't they have them where you're from? Speaking of which, where are tourists from?"

Oh fudge buckets, she had forgotten that she hadn't actually told Bilbo yet. "It's a place quite a ways from here. You have to take a boat." A boat? Really? In all the possible things Ali could have thought of she had to say boat?

"Ah," Bilbo sort of nodded then shook his head, "that really doesn't tell me anything, what's it like there? What's it called?"

"It's called Philadelphia, and well it's normal there. No orcs or goblins trying to murder you, the birds are normal sized, there's no magic or wizards or elves. Basically it's just people doing people things." Ali shrugged even though Bilbo couldn't see, "one of the nice things are cars."

"Carts?" Bilbo asked, "we have those here as well."

"No silly, cars, there big metal carts basically, but instead of horses pulling it, there's an engine inside that is powered by fuel so that it moves on its own." Ali knew she wasn't explaining herself very well, it would have actually made more sense to say magic. "It would have cut this trip into like a two day drive."

"I don't understand," Bilbo said quietly, "that doesn't sound normal at all."

"Now you can imagine how I've felt since you found me on your bench," Ali muttered.

"But HOW did you get to my bench? How did you get from such a strange place to here?" Bilbo asked again.

"Ummm," Ali stumbled, if she thought home was hard to explain, how could she touch all this. Something about magical elves summoning her from some kind of veil, a war of multiple armies, and Thorin being killed. Ali shuttered, really she didn't even understand how all this happened. Also Thorin, there was no way she could just blurt out that he was destined to die. Unless of course she took his place. "Ummm," Ali struggled.

"Lassie!" A welcomed distraction came from Dwalin's interruption. Turning she watched him jog up, "mind if I steal a word?"

"Ummm, what word did you have in mind? There are a few I'm rather attached to and would miss if you took," she felt like suddenly she was rambling like an idiot so she shut up, instead she just looked to Bilbo for permission.

Reluctantly Bilbo tutted but nodded, "I'll talk to you in a bit, okay?" Lightly he squeezed her hand as if to reassure her.

For the first few moments as Bilbo disappeared around the corner it was awkward. Maybe that wasn't even the best way of explaining it, was there a word for super awkward? Sukward? No that was just a stupid, but then again Ali seemed to be hitting homeruns on her stupid ideas.

Beside her Dwalin cleared his throat, "handled urself alright back there."

"You think? I'll do better next time." Ali had to do better than alright, she had to be someone they could depend on.

"Thas not what…" Dwalin didn't finish, instead he just growled. "How are you feeling?"

"What?" Ali's mind jumped automatically to her shoulder, "why does everybody keep asking me that? I said I'm fine." Okay, too defensive.

"Thas all I need ta know, see ya at the bottom lassie." Dwalin nodded and stopped to wait for the others again. Perhaps sukward was going to have to be a new word in her vocabulary.

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><p>Beside Thorin, Balin sighed yet again. A sound that he was quickly getting tired of hearing, behind him Gandalf chorused in agreement. Thorin got it already, he had messed up, made the wrong choice, and said the wrong thing. He was tired for sure, and far sorer than any time spent in the forges could have made him. Yet still they insisted that now was the time to discuss this, as if he hadn't already agreed with him.<p>

Finally Dwalin came into view, at first a sight for sore eyes, but as he sighed much like his brother Thorin took back his relief.

"Ya done messed up Thorin," Dwalin spoke low as he attempted to fall back into his place with the others on the narrow path.

"How bad is it?" Balin pushed for more information.

"She says she's fine," Dwalin rumbled, only to be echoed with another round of sighs.

"I don't understand, she says she's fine, where is the problem?" Thorin questioned.

"Oh my dear boy," Gandalf chuckled, placing his hand on Thorin's shoulder, "when a woman says she's fine, it means she's definitely not fine."

"That doesn't make any sense, why would she just not say that?" Thorin mumbled, he was too tired for this right now.

"Women are…strange creatures by nature, I'm told trying to understand one can lead a man to madness." Gandalf mused, "what I can tell you is that once you get to know one they have little signs, body language is key."

Thorin rubbed his face, he felt compelled to do something to smooth this over with her, but also tired. Perhaps after a nights rest he would find it easier to figure out. Though he couldn't say he understood, if she claimed to be fine then why would that mean she wasn't? Women.

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><p><em>AAAAAND here it is! The next chapter dun dun dun.<em>

_Drama, Romance, Questions Answered About Ali's Past...If I'm Feeling Nice..._

_All Around The Corner!_

_As always thank you lovely folks for the reviews! It's seriously what keeps me posting new chapters._

_So far everything has been wonderful and positive, but if you see a problem or something doesn't make sense let me know :)_

_I'm open to all sorts of criticism as long as it's helpful_

_Thank you and Muah!_


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